BEGINNING FROM 2013 ARMENIA WILL HAVE TO PAY $220-$230 MILLION A YEAR TO CLEAR ITS FOREIGN DEBT

/ARKA/
May 13, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, May 13, /ARKA/. Head of an Armenian parliamentary oversight
body warned today that beginning from 2013 the government will have
to earmark $220-$230 million a year to clear its foreign debt Ishkhan
Zakarian, chairman of the National Assembly’s Audit Chamber, said
during a discussion on last year’s budget performance that calculations
show that Armenia’s foreign debt may rise to about $4 billion in 2012,
which means that beginning from 2013 the government will have to pay
annually $220-$230 million to clear its foreign debt.

According to him, the payment of foreign debt will become a heavy
burden on the budget.

‘This is why the Audit Chamber suggests that the government increase
the share of domestic debt in the overall debt composition as a
factor of less risk,’ he said adding that additional budget funds
should be directed towards paying off the loans provided at higher
interest rates because that would reduce the risks.

‘At any rate, the figures are large and it is evident that we are going
to face serious problems which would affect the government spending,’
he said.

According to government data, as of 2010 December 30 Armenia’s overall
foreign debt stood at 1.379.3 trillion drams. According to finance
ministry’s numbers, domestic debt stood at 180.3 billion drams and
the foreign debt at 1.198.9 trillion drams, an equivalent of $3.299
billion. Last year the debt, denominated in Armenian national currency,
increased by 4.8% (or 108.5 billion drams ) from 2009.