September 5–18 IMF mission led by Mark Horton made a visit to Yerevan to carry on discussions for the Fifth Review of the Extended Fund Facility/Extended Credit Facility arrangements and the 2012 Article IV consultations. After return to IMF headquarters, Mr. Horton made a statement that the program performance remains broadly satisfactory and the fiscal balance has undertaken improvement.
“The CBA has shown strengthened commitment to a flexible exchange rate and the inflation-targeting regime. The CBA continues to improve its monetary policy tools and its monitoring of risks, particularly those associated with foreign currency lending. Structural reforms are progressing. The mission looks forward to the first results of the “Regulatory Guillotine” project. The mission reached preliminary agreement on a policy framework for the rest of 2012 and 2013 that could form the basis for completion of the review. Upon approval, the IMF would disburse US$52 million, bringing total disbursements under the EFF/ECF to about US$327 million.”
He added that the authorities expressed enthusiasm in IMF arrangement, after the current program concludes in the middle of 2013. They said that a new program would support policy for persistent external and fiscal adjustment, strengthened policy buffers and fiscal space.
Note that the mission had meetings with Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Minister of Finance Vache Gabrielyan, Central Bank Governor Arthur Javadyan, Minister of Economy Tigran Davtyan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan, Minister of Transport Gagik Beglaryan, as well as senior government officials, representatives of the international community, the banking and business sectors, and civil society.