Armenia continues to borrow funds
By Rashid Shirinov
The external debt of Armenia will increase by $400 million, while the internal debt will jump up by $30 million by the end of 2017.
Armenian Finance Minister Vardan Aramyan reminded that the total debt of Armenia was $5.9 billion or 56.6 percent of the country’s GDP at the end of 2016.
“Until the end of this year, the total debt will approach 58.8 percent of the GDP. The external debt will be $5.4 billion, and the internal debt –$1.269 billion,” the minister said.
Thus, the situation on Armenia’s state debt is aggravating day by day. The economy of the country remains critical, demonstrating unbelievably low indices each year. Descending economy, high poverty and increasing outflow of people are the pure realities in Armenia, which lack any governmental scenario or program to change the situation.
Aramyan tried to cheer up the Armenian population saying that “the economic growth will be more than 3.2 percent. We will complete the year with a real 4.3-percent economic growth.” However experts are suspicious of any economic growth.
In 2015-2016, Armenia’s external debt increased markedly, the country took loans of $900 million, and the transfers to the country decreased. The latest data show that currently Armenia’s state debt exceeds $6.2 billion.
The country borrows hundreds of millions of dollars every year, but does not care about paying the debt off. As a result, the country actually exists thanks to credit.
Obviously, if Armenia stops taking debts, it can lead to the collapse of the country’s economy. Therefore, the current Armenian government continues attracting loans, preferring to leave this problem for the future generation.
Meanwhile, the official data shows that every third citizen of Armenia lives in poverty, and this indicator is growing every year. The unemployment rate in Armenia still remains highest in the CIS area, while the wages in the country keep falling down. In addition, the conflicts with neighbors, including the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, do not allow Armenia to join any regional project and gain any benefits.
This fact raises a rhetorical question – where do the attracted money flow?
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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