YEREVAN. – The 2016 State Budget, which the Government of Armenia has introduced, reflects the reality and the negative trends that exist in the region.

Economist Karlen Khachatryan stated the above-said at a press conference on Friday.

“The government, (…) considering the dire economic situation, didn’t cut costs; but on the contrary, it directed certain amounts [of money] to economic development, even at the expense of deficit,” Khachatryan noted.

As per the economist, the relative economic liveliness in Armenia in the current year was due to the growth in the country’s agricultural sector, and the partly positive trends in the mining sector. 

“According to official statistics, more SMEs [i.e. small and medium-sized enterprises] opened, rather than closed [in Armenia], in 2015,” Karlen Khachatryan added. “The [respective] state support will be the same in 2016.”