YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS: International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts Armenia’s economic growth to reach 3.5 % in 2015-2016, IMF Armenia Mission head Mark Horton told journalists, Armenpress reports. 

“We connect the growth acceleration with reforms, continuation of solid fiscal policy. In our opinion, for example, the flights to Yerevan have increased in 35%, passenger transportation has increased in 30 % and ticket prices have reduced 20%. Rapid growth has been registered in the field of tourism. This shows that in case of open economy and creation of more competitive opportunities, the prices will profitably change and the growth will accelerate,” said Mark Horton, urging the Armenian authorities to go on with implementation of reforms in the field of the civil aviation.

In answer to the question what position Armenia occupies among the regional countries by economic growth indexes, Mark Horton noted, “Growth in Armenia is higher than in Russia and is considerably higher than in Ukraine. As compared to South Caucasus countries, Armenia’s economy is developing slower than the Georgian economy and much slower than Azerbaijan’s. As compared to the Middle East countries, Armenia’s economy is developing much slower, but those countries have natural resources and other development prospects,” said Mark Horton, connecting those indexes with limited volume of investments in Armenia in the recent years.