YEREVAN, June 21. /ARKA /. Asad Alam, World Bank’s outgoing regional director for the South Caucasus said today the UN lending institution believes that the Armenian government is able to ensure a 7 percent GDP growth in 2012.
Chairing the first meeting of his new but mostly unchanged government on Monday, president Serzh Sargsyan told its members to ensure that economic growth in Armenia is well above earlier government projections.
“The primary expectation from the government’s work in 2012 is to ensure a 7 percent economic growth,” he added.
The Armenian authorities had forecast a GDP growth rate of only 4.2 percent for this year.
“I read with interest the statement of President that the government should ensure a 7% growth of GDP. We have GDP growth data for the first quarter, and by the end of June we expect it to increase,” said Alam.
Armenia’s GDP in the first quarter of 2012 increased by 4.7% over the same period in 2011 amounting to more than 657.5 billion drams. The Armenian government on Thursday adopted a program of activities for 2012, as well as priorities for the current year.
Alam also said today that despite the fact that the World Bank lowered the outlook on Armenia’s GDP in 2012 to 4.1%, it is going to revise it by the end of June.
Armenia became the only country in the South Caucasus, whose GDP growth rate for 2012 was revised by the World Bank downwards, lowering it from 4.3% to 4.1%. -0-
