Armenia’s foreign debt may grow to 50% of GDP in 2012: World Bank

Armenia’s foreign debt may grow to 50% of GDP in 2012: World Bank
ARKA, 26.02.2010

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.