ADB praises Armenia macroeconomic reform

• Source: Xinhua
• [12:59 July 27 2009]
• Comments

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice- President Xiaoyu Zhao praised Armenia's macroeconomic and structural reform agenda during a two-day visit there, the bank said in a press release Friday.

"Armenia has made remarkable progress in creating a favorable business environment, liberalizing trade and enacting other reforms that are helping the country weather the global economic crisis," Zhao said after meetings with government leaders in the capital, Yerevan.

During talks with President Serzh Sargsyan, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Minister of Economy Nerces Yeritzyan, and Minister of Transport and Communication Gurgen Sargsyan, Zhao discussed the Armenia Public Expenditure Support Program (APESP), an 80-million-US-dollar emergency assistance loan approved by ADB's Board of Directors earlier this month.

The APESP will help the government create and protect jobs and shore up social safety nets. The quick-dispersing loan will also help maintain critical expenditures such as wages and pensions, the ADB said.

After many years of strong economic growth, Armenia has been hit hard by the financial and economic crisis, it added.