ARMENIA’S FOREIGN DEBT MAY GROW TO 50% OF GDP IN 2012: WORLD BANK
ARKA
Feb 26, 2010
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, /ARKA/. A senior World Bank official said
today Armenia’s foreign debt may grow next year to 45% of its GDP
and to 50% in 2012. Speaking at a news conference head of World Bank
Yerevan Office, Aristomene Varoudakis, said this situation is not
dangerous, because the bulk of the foreign debt are loans, allocated
at privileged terms.
According to the official figures, Armenia’s state foreign debt
amounted to $2.720 billion as of September 30, 2009, rising by 77.7%
from a year before. Aristomene Varoudakis explained that World Bank
credits are given with 10 year grace period, but urged the government
to improve tax collection rate, ‘because when the time to pay back
the loans comes the government must have funds to do so.’
Varoudakis said further that the government should use any opportunity
to attract loans at concessionary terms.