YEREVAN, May 19. /ARKA/. Although the ratio of Armenia’s public debt to GDP has reached 51%, the government is not having problems in servicing the debt, deputy finance minister Pavel Safaryan told the parliament today.
“This figure is something to think about, but not to get terrified or create panic, because the growth of public debt indicates the possibility of the country to attract and repay financial resources,” Safaryan said.
Regarding Armenia’s ability to repay the borrowed resources, the deputy minister said there will be no macroeconomic risks at least in the next three years
“The strategy of financial policy designed for 2017-2019 in view of all the commitments and debts of Armenia shows that in the medium term there is no fear for the debt service,” said Safaryan.
At the end of March, 2016 Armenia’s total public debt stood at $5.196.1 billion, an increase of 1.5% compared to February. When compared to the beginning of the year, the total public debt was up by 2.3%.
According to the National Statistical Service, the external debt of the country at the end of March 2016 stood at $4.405.7 billion, an increase of 1.5% or $63.6 million from the previous month.
According to the state budget, the country’s public debt in 2016 will make 49.4% of GDP, while the ratio of external debt to GDP will be 42.8%. The total public debt by the end of 2016 is expected to grow to $5.569 billion, of which 86.6% will be external debt. -0-
