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."