YEREVAN, February 23. /ARKA/. Despite the difficulties Armenia faced in the beginning of 2009, the country has managed to survive the crisis, Armenian Finance Minister Tigran Davtyan said at Bridge-2010, seventh international economic forum held this weekend in Tsakhkadzor, Armenia.

He said that confidence in Armenian banks has run high thanks to that.

Armenia retained stability of banking system with minor losses.

“Despite the crisis, deposits in commercial banks considerably grew in 2009, and this shows confidence in the banking system,” the minister said.

He said that the government had also managed to leave the state budget expenditure unchanged.

“It was not so easy to retain the previous year’s expenses, but we did that thanks to quick attraction of domestic and outside resources and fulfilled our social commitments.”

Additional financing of the 2009 and 2010 state budgets are planned at $1 billon.

The World Bank pledged $60 million, Asian Development Bank $80 million, International Monetary Fund $305 million and Russia $500 million to Armenia.

Davtyan also stressed the importance of Armenia’s image on the world market.

“The reputation won thanks to long years of tireless work help us attract these resources quickly and on quite favorable conditions.”

He stressed the necessity to maintain macroeconomic stability. -0--