YEREVAN, October 6. /ARKA/. Armenia’s two top-priority objectives today are to curb inflation and restore economic growth, Deputy Finance Minister Vardan Aramyan said Thursday at Global Opportunities of Local Markets: Infrastructure and Regulation international conference.

“We are trying to solve these two problems before 2012,” he said. “We project 4% inflation – this is an upper benchmark set by the central bank. We will also try to recover our economy and ensure the pre-crisis GDP growth to it.”

Aramyan pointed out necessity to continue macroeconomic policy and cyclic monetary and fiscal policies to ensure stability to the country.

“Diversification of Armenian economy’s structure should become one of our government’s top-priority objectives,” he said adding that as a rule, production-oriented economies stand crises imposed from the outside better than others.

The deputy minister also stressed necessity to encourage export-oriented industries and enhance their competitiveness.

As a rule, countries enhancing industrial effectiveness are better prepared to crises and outside impacts, he said.
Aramyan also found it necessary to improve business environment in the country.

“Business is the most important factor helping survive any crisis,” he said. “It is necessary to create incentives for businessmen to enable them to improve and modernize production. Stable macroeconomic situation is needed for that.”

In the 2011 government budget, GDP growth is projected at 4.6%.

In its monetary policy program, the Central Bank of Armenia predicted with 74.2% probability that inflation in the country would range between 3% and 5.5% in the third quarter.

In the 2011 government budget, inflation is projected at 4% (±1.5%). ($1 – 375.29 drams). –0--