YEREVAN. – The government of Armenia has decided to make a number of changes in the state budget due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus, to mitigate its possible negative consequences. The Minister of Finance, Atom Janjughazyan, said this during Tuesday’s National Assembly special sitting to debate on the bill on making amendments and additions to the law on the state budget for 2020.

"We believe that in such a situation, it is necessary to take all necessary measures to withstand the crisis and restore the existing financial losses, which will allow ensuring the rate of further economic growth," he explained.

Janjughazyan said that due to COVID-19 a 2% economic decline is expected in Armenia, instead of the expected growth.

According to the minister, the state budget losses will amount to about 324 billion drams. But at the same time, he assured that even in such a difficult situation, the Armenian government was not going to considerably reduce the expenses envisaged by the state budget. "The state budget revenue index will also be revised," Janjughazyan added. "According to the presented scenario, we will receive 169 billion drams less tax revenue."

In order to avoid radical steps by way spending cuts, the Armenian authorities have decided to take loans from international donors, thus increasing the country’s debt by another 150 billion drams.