ANC member slams authorities basing on Forbes erroneous calculations

PanARMENIAN.Net - Member of the Armenian National Congress Gurgen Yeghiazaryan leveled sharp criticism against the authorities for the economic problems as result of which Forbes named Armenia as second worst economy in the world.

“I offer Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan to hang himself after seeing such results,” Yeghiazaryan told a news conference in Yerevan.

He noted that the President of Madagascar, the country with the worst economic index according to the Forbes’ list World’s Worst Economies in 2011, fled the country a couple of days ago. “By the way, Madagascar’s President came to power with overwhelming majority of votes,” Yeghiazaryan said sarcastically.

For his part, member of the ruling Republic Party of Armenia (RPA) Hamlet Harutyunyan disagreed with the recent report. “The authorities address the economic problems the country faces,” he said.

Forbes assessment for Armenia is based on a range of indices for the last three years, namely, economic growth, inflation, as well as current deficit rate, which deteriorated in the country especially during crisis period of 2009, according to Minister of Finances of Armenia Vache Gabrielyan.

Problems in Armenia are mainly dependent on crisis aftermath, and 15% economic decline was recorded in the country in 2009 “which is the most significant index conditioned by slowdown in transfer rates and construction field activity,” the Minister told a joint press conference with Jean-Michel Happi, the World Bank Country Manager for Armenia on July 7.

However, according to Gabrielyan, “if we abstract away from 2009 and have a look at 2011-2012, we shall see quite another scene in Armenia, characterized with economic growth and inflation decrease.”

“This is a snapshot assessment (for narrow period of time), it may not be the same in 2012, and is totally conditioned by the situation of 2009,” the Minister said.

Besides, the government policy from the viewpoint of vulnerability and macroeconomic stability was rather successful, according to WB data; and based on other local leading rating agencies’ information, Armenia’s positions on macroeconomic and financial stability did not decrease after 2009.

In turn, Happi shared Gabrielyan’s view and noted that Armenia is not, certainly, the worst country in the world with the worst economy. “Surely, inflation was recorded, import two times exceeded export, inflation in post-crisis period reached 9,5%, but this does not mean to carry sequential character in future,” said the WB Country Manager.

Forbes ranked Armenia 2nd (following Madagascar) in the list of the World’s Worst Economies in 2011. “At No. 2 is Armenia, whose economy shrank by 15% in 2009 as an expatriate-financed construction boom fizzled along with the world economy. With a mediocre growth forecast for the next few years, this landlocked former Soviet republic, dependent upon Russia and Iran for virtually all of its energy supplies, is struggling to keep up with the rest of the world. Per-capita GDP of $3,000 is less than a third of neighboring Turkey, and inflation is running at 7%. On top of that, Russia cut back on supplies of diamonds, hurting Armenia’s once-thriving diamond-processing industry,” the report says.