The expenses of the state budget of Armenia increased in the first quarter of 2023. This was announced by finance minister Vahe Hovhannisyan during the presentation of the report on the performance of the state budget in the first quarter of this year at Friday’s special meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs.

However, there was a considerable underperformance of the plan, especially in terms of capital costs, which are lower compared to 2022—not only in percentage, but also in absolute terms.

"As a result, that fiscal impulse was negative. Revenue collection continues, recording at a high pace due to economic growth and rising prices. Nonetheless, the pace of the current year has fallen behind the indicators of 2022. It was negatively affected by the underspending of funds," explained Hovhannisyan.