YEREVAN, March 17. /ARKA/. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will arrive in Armenia soon, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan said.
“A number of reviews have been conducted during the year, all of them positive, the reports have been published. The first review of this year is also expected soon,” Hovhannisyan said at an extraordinary session of the parliamentary commttee on regional and Eurasian integration on Monday.
In December 2024, the IMF Executive Board completed the fourth review under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with Armenia, which gives the country access to about $24.1 million (18.4 million SDRs), bringing total access to about $120.59 million (92 million SDRs). Armenian authorities continue to view the agreement as a precautionary measure.
On December 12, 2022, the IMF Executive Board approved a 36-month SBA precautionary program that supports the authorities’ efforts to preserve macroeconomic, financial, and fiscal stability and advance the domestic economic program.
Stand-by Arrangements (SBAs) imply that a country receives a guarantee that it will be able to automatically receive foreign exchange up to the limit of the amount agreed upon at any time during the term of the arrangement if the terms of the agreement are met.
Practice shows that the amount of funds disbursed under such agreements usually exceeds the amount actually utilized. At the end of the agreement, the amount of the loan not utilized by the country is returned to the fund. -0-
