YEREVAN, December 15. /ARKA/. The Armenian authorities should do “much more” to reform the country’s flawed business environment and thus foster continued economic growth,” Guillermo Tolosa, the IMF’s resident representative in Yerevan, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
“There have been some improvements in the business environment but still we think that much more needs to be done. Especially in the current conditions Armenia faces an increasingly pessimistic and adverse global environment. Armenia always faces a very difficult geopolitical situation. So the country cannot afford anymore to have the difficult business environment that it now has,” he warned.
Tolosa reaffirmed IMF warnings that Armenia could be adversely affected by Europe’s sovereign debt crisis if it slows economic growth in Russia and causes international commodity prices to fall. But he said the fund still thinks that the Armenian economy is “most likely” to grow by about 4 percent next year.
“But the risks associated with this target are increasing by the day,” added the IMF official.
The IMF representative warned that a possible political instability after next year parliamentary elections would have an adverse effect on the economy.
According to official data, Armenia’s debt to IMF stood at $795.8 million as of September 30, 22.6% of the country’s foreign debt HAVING grown by 7.4% from the beginning of the year. -0-
