YEREVAN, MAY 8, ARMENPRESS. As a result of introducing the Governmental Debt Reduction Program, the Debt-to-GDP-ratio has dropped 2,3% points – totaling 51,4% in 2018 against the previous year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a press conference dedicated to his 1st year in office.

He added that Armenia has advanced by 6 points in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 report. Armenia is ranked 41st among 190 countries.

The PM added that Armenia has improved its position by 19 notches in the World Press Freedom Index. Pashinyan noted that “press is freer than ever before in Armenia”. He pointed out the Freedom on the Net report of Freedom House, whereby Armenia has recorded significant progress and is now ranked among “free” countries, instead of the previous “partly free”. As another achievement, he noted The Economist’s naming Armenia the Country of the Year.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan