Bagrat Asatryan: Armenian government not adequately reacted to crisis
The Armenian government has long denied the impact of the crisis on country's economy, Bagrat Asatryan , ex-chairman of the Central Bank, lecturer at the Department of Economics of the Yerevan State University told a news conference on Dec. 10 in Yerevan.
"The crisis has become tangible since the middle of 2008," he said. However, the government of Armenia, according to him, in 2008 adopted a "wasteful budget" with a 9 per cent economic growth for 2009.
According to Bagrat Asatryan, since early 2009 the government, guided by emotions, adopted anti-crisis policy without any specific means and methods for its implementation, which also lacked long-term projects. The Government of Armenia should first turn to domestic sources (banks and citizens) and try to implement anti-crisis projects at the expense of domestic debt, he said. Only after that, the government should try to attract them from outside. "If in late 2008, we were a country with a light debt burden, by late 2009 we become a country with a heavy burden as the country's national debt is approaching 50 per cent of GDP," he said.
"The crisis has become tangible since the middle of 2008," he said. However, the government of Armenia, according to him, in 2008 adopted a "wasteful budget" with a 9 per cent economic growth for 2009.
According to Bagrat Asatryan, since early 2009 the government, guided by emotions, adopted anti-crisis policy without any specific means and methods for its implementation, which also lacked long-term projects. The Government of Armenia should first turn to domestic sources (banks and citizens) and try to implement anti-crisis projects at the expense of domestic debt, he said. Only after that, the government should try to attract them from outside. "If in late 2008, we were a country with a light debt burden, by late 2009 we become a country with a heavy burden as the country's national debt is approaching 50 per cent of GDP," he said.
