YEREVAN, February 7. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Nature Protection Khachik Hakobyan said today that the country will reduce part of its external debt by implementing a string of environmental projects, worth up to $570 million.
According to the country’s National Statistical Service, Armenia's external debt at the end of 2017 stood at about $5.5 billion.
Hakobyan said a task force was set up by the government chaired by the deputy prime minister to implement this process. The technical assistance will be provided by the World Bank, which approved the initiative.
"Now we are at developing relevant procedures and a road map, which will be submitted to the World Bank, however, the implementation of the projects and specific amounts that will be written off from Armenia's external debt as a result will be known in the next 2-3 years," Hakobyan said.
The deputy minister explained that instead of repaying part of the external debt, Armenia will have to invest in the implementation of environmental projects, improve the efficiency of water resources management, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and solve other environmental problems.
Hakobyan went on to explain saying for example that Armenia regularly pays off its debts to Germany and Japan, which in turn have a number of environmental obligations to international organizations, such as reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
Instead of reducing their CO2 emissions, they allocate funds to Armenia for the implementation of similar environmental projects. Thus, Japan’s and Germany’s international commitments to reduce emissions are observed. In short, they sell their CO2 quotas to Armenia. In the end, funds equivalent to the amount allocated for these projects are written off from Armenia’s debt to Japan and Germany.
According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia's aggregate state debt at the end of 2017 stood at $6.774.6 billion, an increase of 14% or $832.5 million compared to the end of 2016. The external state debt was $5.494.9 billion, an increase of 14.3% or $689.3 million from the previous year. -0-