Economic growth in Armenia could reach double-digit rates in the coming years, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian claimed on Thursday.
The Pashinian government’s comprehensive policy program adopted by the parliament early this year envisages that the Armenian economy will grow by at least 5 percent annually for the next five years. The World Bank forecast in January slightly lower growth rates for 2019 and 2020.
The government recorded a growth rate of 5.2 percent last year. Official statistics shows growth accelerating to over 6.5 percent in the first half of this year.
Speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting, Pashinian cited “good” macroeconomic indicators registered in July. Those include a 16 percent year-on-year surge in industrial output.
“What does analysis of this year tell us?” he told government ministers. “My personal conclusion is that recording double-digit economic growth is not a science fiction thing.”
Pashinian said that GDP would have increased more rapidly this year had the government’s major capital spending projects not fallen behind schedule because of delays in the selection of contractors and signing of contracts with them. He said government agencies should therefore do a better job of organizing this infrastructure spending next year.
The Armenian economy grew at double-digit rates for seven consecutive years in the 2000s. That growth came to an end with the onset of a global financial crisis in 2008. It averaged 2.7 percent per annum from 2008-2018.
Economy Minister Tigran Khachatrian sounded cautious about chances of renewed double-digit growth in the country. “Bear in mind that everything will depend on the introduction of new technologies and the volume of investments in various sectors of the economy,” he told reporters after the cabinet meeting.