YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. The fight against corruption and creation of equal conditions in the economic sector are the key preconditions for Armenia’s future development, Voice of America reports.

According to the Transition Report 2019-2020 of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in 2019 Armenia managed to maintain stable GDP growth despite the certain decline in the mining industry and agriculture. In the current year Armenia’s GDP grew by 6% according to the EBRD data.

The decline in mining industry also led to a certain slowdown in the export growth. At the same time, the import from abroad to Armenia increased by 16%. Despite this, the exchange rate of the Armenian dram remained stable in 2019, and the inflation declined from 2.5% to 1.7%. It’s noteworthy that the Armenian government managed also to improve the fiscal situation at this period, by lowering the amount of the public debt against the GDP from 60% to 55.7%.

According to the report, the new Armenian government’s priority is not only to ensure high economic growth, but also to see its reflection on the improvement of the life quality of the citizens. The European side in particular highlights the ongoing tax reforms in Armenia and the increase of the transparency level of that field. The public administration reform, the structural changes, as well as the promotion of high technologies and services fields are aimed at ensuring a sustainable growth in Armenia, the report said.

In the introduction of the report Chief Economist at the EBRD Beata Javorcik says good governance matters. It matters at the level of countries, subnational regions and firms, and it also matters for people’s well-being. Governance matters for economic growth, the perceived quality of life and the natural environment.

For comparison, the 2019 GDP in Georgia and Azerbaijan will be lower than that in Armenia, and the inflation is going to be higher in these neighbor countries compared to Armenia.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan