ARMENIA READY FOR ANY MACROECONOMIC SCENARIO

ARKA
March 2, 2009

YEREVAN, March 2. /ARKA/. Armenia is ready for any macroeconomic
scenario, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said, answering
the question ARKA News Agency put to him.

He said that Armenian Government didn’t rule out either 9%, 4.5%
and 0% economic growth or 1.8% to 4.5% decline.

"We are ready for all these scenarios", the premier said.

Earlier, Arthur Javadyan, chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia,
referring to analysts’ forecast, said that economic growth will range
from seven to eight percent and inflation is expected to be at 4%,
if no new shocks make world markets tremble.

Sargsyan said that each of these scenarios needs estimation of possible
macroeconomic situation, export and import, payment balance as well
as the state budget revenue and expenditure.

He said that Armenian authorities had presented their calculations
to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The premier said the WB and IMF thought "we should be ready for the
worst scenario that may be due to the world economy’s development on
more pessimistic scenario".

"Aristomene Varoudakis, the head of the World Bank’s Yerevan Office,
pointed out one of possible scenario", he said.

Varoudakis, speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, said that
zero GDP growth is expected to be recorded in Armenia in 2009.

He sai d it taking into account recent economic developments all
over the world and worsening economic situation in Russia, who is
Armenia’s key trade partner.