YEREVAN, October 25. /ARKA/. The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a $40 million policy-based loan to help the Government of Armenia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen fiscal sustainability and support the development of financial markets in the country, the press office of the ADB reported on Wednesday.

“Sound public debt management and well-developed financial markets are essential to Armenia’s long-run growth and sustainable development,” said Shane Rosenthal, Country Director, Armenia Resident Mission, is quoted in the press release.

“We are helping the Government of Armenia implement a series of reforms to increase transparency, improve governance, and encourage more private investment in the country that will create more jobs.”

The Public Efficiency and Financial Markets Program will increase the depth of financial markets in Armenia and help the government in its goal of increasing fiscal sustainability and resilience in the country’s financial sector.

Through a series of sequenced reform measures, the program will strengthen Armenia’s public debt management to enhance fiscal discipline and transparency and improve the efficiency of the government securities market so that Armenia can rely more on domestic borrowing in dram to finance government activities.

The program also aims to enhance corporate transparency, which will improve the investment climate and increase private investment in the economy.

ADB has been working with the Government of Armenia since 2005 and has approved 26 loans totaling $1.27 billion and 26 technical assistance grants totaling $16.5 million.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in cofinancing. --0---