State Debt Will Reach $6.94 Billion by Year-End, Brutyun Details

The Armenian government approved today the loan programs of €36.5 million from the Asian Development Bank and €40 million from the German KfW Development Bank. The inquiry was presented by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Karen Brutyun.

He noted that the 2019 budget plans to attract approximately €131.4 million or $149.5 million in budgetary support loans. The deputy minister informed that today's cabinet meeting also approved another program from the Asian Development Bank worth €9.1 million. “In the next cabinet meeting, we will present another loan program from the World Bank amounting to €45.8 million. All these funds will be directed to the financing of the budget deficit,” he added.

Brutyun stated that as of September 30, Armenia's state debt is $6.539 billion. “If the loans approved at today’s cabinet meeting are included, taking into account the World Bank loan, which will be approved next week, the state debt will reach $6.94 billion by the end of this year, which is 50.3 percent of the GDP. This figure will be a reduction compared to last year's indicator, which was 51.3 percent,” he remarked.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the importance of this figure, noting that it provides an opportunity to attract new debt if necessary.