SHARP DEPRECIATION OF DOLLAR IS WORRYING FROM VIEWPOINT OF COUNTRY’S NATIONAL SECURITY, ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 5, 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The sharp appreciation of the
Armenian dram or the depreciation of the dollar is worrying not
only because of its impact on the Armenian economy but also from
the viewpoint of national security, the Armenian prime minister
Serge Sargsian expressed this opinion at the December 5 meeting with
resporters. In his words, Armenia’s economy is open and small and
therefore vulnerable, and processes taking place in international
market are quite dangerous in this respect. Besides, Armenian citizens
receive large sums from their relatives abroad, and considerable
part of these remittances is received in dollars. At the same time,
the inflow of large amounts of dollars is an additional factor for
the dollar’s depreciation. According to S. Sargsian, the depreciation
of the dollar is not conducive to export promotion either, whereas
there is a problem of increasing Armenia’s GDP continuously.

The prime minister said that the government is concerned about all
this and is taking the respective steps which cannot give positive
results in a short period of time but will prove quite efficient later.

Speaking about the recent fall in the dram’s exchange rate by 20
points in one day, S. Sargsian said that it was not related to the
processes in international market. According to him, the issue is
being examined in order to reveal the cause of the sharp fluctuation
of the exchange rate: a step to do damage to the country’s economy,
a mere speculation, or an interference of other countries.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress