IMF, Armenia reach $250 mln stand-by arrangement dealFebruary 27, 2019 - 10:58 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The International Monetary Fund will provide $250 million to support the Armenian government's reform plans, the IMF said in a statement on Tuesday, February 26. At the request of the Armenian authorities, a staff team from the International Monetary Fund, led by Hossein Samiei, visited Yerevan during February 12-26 to discuss a three-year economic program supported by an IMF precautionary Stand-By Arrangement and to conduct the 2019 Article IV consultation. “I am pleased to announce that the IMF team and the Armenian authorities have reached staff-level agreement on a precautionary Stand-By Arrangement for the amount of $250 million to support the new government’s reform plans and strengthen resilience against external shocks. These plans aim at maintaining strong policies to preserve macroeconomic and financial stability and advancing reforms to promote inclusive growth. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, which is expected to consider it in May 2019," Samiei said. "Guided by sound macroeconomic policies, Armenia’s economic performance has been robust. Looking ahead, growth is expected to moderate to about 4½ percent in 2019, reflecting a weaker global environment and copper prices, and remain in the 4-5 percent range over the medium term." Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |