ARMENIA WILL HAVE WORSE ECONOMIC INDICES NEXT YEAR, MEMBER OF "ARF" FACTION SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Nov 11, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. "The "ARF" parliamentary faction has
not yet expressed its position on the 2010 state budget, but the party
is not optimistic and sees no positive tendencies in the state budget
and the economic policy of the government". Ara Nranian, member of the
RA National Assemly Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, member of
"ARF" faction, made this statement at the November 10 press conference.

In his words, the government completes the year 2009 at the expense
of foreign funds, and in 2010 it also pins hopes on foreign aid –
on the so-called concession loans, which, as A. Nranian put it, "are
not so concession ones, and everybody knows this". "The government is
trying to take some steps, but it fails to do so, because the levers
are in the hands of others: the steps taken by the government are in
the interests of the oligopol circles, the importers, those persons
and companies that have a monopoly in the country," A. Nranian noted,
adding that next year Armenia will have worse economic indices.

He said the government is marking time until the consequences of the
economic crisis disappear in the world and some economic growth is
recorded, which will affect the Armenian economy as well. Whereas,
according to A. Nranian, the most important step of the government
should be aimed at increasing incomes of the population. "In the
2010 budget, the government neither encouraged the gross demand nor
envisaged indexation of wages and pensions, which will only deteriorate
the economic situation in 2010," A. Nranian underlined.