“In scrutinizing the 2011 draft budget you cannot understand whet they mean. It contains the same words and thoughts as last year’s draft and the one of the year before,” the member of the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC), economist Vahagn Khachatryan told NEWS.am.

The 2011 draft budget has nothing new that would allow one to say that Armenia has overcome the economic crisis and is progressing now. “In fact, we are in the same situation as in 2009-2010. No difference,” he said.

As regards RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s statement on increased money transfers to Armenia, Khachatryan said that it was not due to economic growth in Armenia. Rather, it was due to the economic growth in Russia and global economic growth. Being proud of it and hoping for transfers means hoping for nothing, which is actually the case now. It means causing Armenia to run up debts and hoping for import. We have to take steps to promote export,” the expert said. He pointed out an 8-9 per cent increase in money transfers by this September as compared with last year. The economist is concerned that, with the budget being small, the Armenian authorities will have to ask the international agencies to defer credit repayments. “In this respect, 2011 to 2013 will be the hardest period. This is power with beggar mentality,” the expert said.

During one of his speeches, Khachatryan said that the Government-submitted draft budget is another survival budget and does not promise anything good. He said that the shoestring budget submitted to Parliament is just a pro-forma budget.