TIGRAN SARGSYAN: PREFERENCE WILL BE GIVEN TO MACROECONOMIC AND
FINANCIAL STABILITY

YERE VAN, NOVEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the Armenian Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan, in conditions of the global financial and
economic crisis, the Armenian government has chosen the following
strategy: to give preference to ensuring macroeconomic stability which
will raise the country’s resistibility to various ordeals, as well as
to ensuring financial stability which creates an opportunity to attract
investments from the private sector and promote the economic growth by
using all the possible instruments. The prime minister stated this at
the discussion of the 2009 draft state budget at the National Assembly.

In his words, "we have presented to you an unprecedented list of
instruments which have not been used by our government in the past 17
years: to encourage national producers and exporters by giving state
guarantees, participating in capital of private enterprises,
subsidizing them, and to help them develop business plans".

The prime minister gave his assurance that the government has a
definite schedule of implementing these measures, and those resposible
for it. He said that the first program that he announced at the
National Assembly has already been implemented: the government has
allocated 17 billion drams to the Armenian-German Fund for crediting of
small and medium business. This money will enable to create thousands
of jobs in Armenia in 2009. Besides, all those large-scale projects
that the Armenian president announced at the National Assembly recently
have also been launched, in particular, the government approved the
bill on All-Armenian Bank that will be submitted to the NA soon. The
budget of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) envisages resources for
establishment of the All-Armenian Bank, and investment and mortgage
funds.

The prime minister said that the design of the new nuclear power
plant’s construction has already begun, and in December the government
will report on the first results at the National Assembly. "The
railway-related work also started, and we have presented this project
to all of our partners and discussed it with internatinal financial
organizations," he noted.

Speaking about the preferences of the government, he attached special
importance to development of infrastructures, first of all, in energy
and agricultural sectors and in water industry. With this aim the
government plans to spend at least 900 million dollars and it conducted
negotiations with the World Bank, the European Bank and the Asian
Development Bank. "We will receive long-tem credits on preferential
terms for infrastructures. Naturally, by spending money on
infrastructures, we will create favorable conditions for economic
development," the prime minister underlined.

He pointed out reconstruction work in the earthquake zone as another
important measure, on which 77 billion drams will be spent. "Work will
start in 2009, tenders for chosing construction firms have been
announced. The first stage is over, and the construction organization
which won the tender has begun preparatory work," the prime minister
announced, adding that nearly 5,000 jobs will be created in Gyumri.

"Our actions will be complex and effective, it means that in 2009 we
will hold consultations with international and Armenian NGOs and
deputies of the National Assembly," the prime minister said, noting
that the purpose is to "involve them in the implementation of
anticrisis measures".