YEREVAN, June 12. /ARKA/. Armenia’s foreign debt may increase amid the global recession, Vice-Premier Mher Grigoryan told reporters on Thursday in the National Assembly. "It is possible that external debt will increase. I consider this a normal process, as there is a recession throughout the world," he said.

Grigoryan said all countries of the world will feel the economic impact of the pandemic and face recession in 2020.

According to the National Statistics Committee, the total public debt of Armenia at the end of December 2019 amounted to $ 7 324.167 million, an increase over the month by $ 158.091 million. The country’s foreign public debt at the end of December 2019 amounted to $ 5 789.729 million, recording a growth for the month by $ 163.477 million. About $ 5,300.412 million here is the debt of the Armenian government (an increase of $ 186.278 million), and $ 489.317 million (down $ 22.801 million) is the debt of the Central Bank of Armenia. The country’s domestic debt at the end of December reached $ 1,534,439 million, decreasing by $ 5,386 million.

Armenian Finance Minister Atom Janjughazyan said on June 5 that the public debt to GDP in Armenia amounted to 53.6%, but it is fully manageable and there is the possibility of attracting new funds.

The international rating agency Fitch Ratings predicts that the total public debt of Armenia will decrease to 51.2% of GDP in 2019 and to 48.4% of GDP in 2021.

The state of emergency, introduced in Armenia on March 16, 2020 to curb the spread of the new coronavirus and extended to May 14, has been extended again - until 17:00 on June 13 inclusive.

According to the latest official report issued on Friday, there are 15,281 confirmed COVID-19 infection cases, 5,639 recovered patients and 258 deaths in the country. -0---