YEREVAN, December 29, /ARKA/. Armenian finance minister Tigran Davtian downplayed today speculations that the country’s foreign debt in 2010 may reach 50% of its GDP.
‘The government has a full control over this regulated processes and there should be no doubts about it. The debt burden will be not be handed down to next generations, because we shall be paying the bulk of the debt and interests in 2013-2014’ he said today at the final news conference this year.
In comments on prime minister Tigran Sarkisian’s remarks that the government was seeking additional financial resources for next year, including a loan form the Anti-Crisis Fund of the Eurasian Economic Community, Tigran Davtian said the government turns for loans only after calculating its expediency.
He said the government is developing five major projects worth $700 million and will submit them to the Anti-Crisis Fund to seek loans. He said the government and representatives of private sector are negotiating also a $100 million Russian loan for boosting diamond cutting sector and reminded of a 100 million euro assistance promised by the European Union of which 35 million will come as a grant and the rest as a privileged loan.
Armenia’s aggregate state debt grew by 19.9% standing at 1.186.3 trillion Drams at the end of Q3, including a 140.8 billion drams of domestic debt and 1.045.6 trillion or $2.720.9 billion of foreign debt. Armenia’s state debt grew steeply due to loans from World Bank, IMF and Russia. -0-
