Armenia has crossed the red line of economic security, opposition MP Levon Zurabyan said in the Parliament on Wednesday.
He said that a country's foreign reserves should exceed imports. In Armenia in Jan-June 2013 imports were $2.238bln while international reserves in Jan 2014 were just $2.113bln and by Sept 2014 they dropped by $1.663bln. "This is already a matter of economic security," Zurabyan said.
ArmInfo's experts report that five years ago Armenia's gold and foreign exchange reserves covered more than half of its foreign debt but in the last years the debt has grown. In 2013 the Central Bank increased the reserves by 25.2% ensuring 58% coverage of the debt against 49% coverage in 2012. In Jan-June 2013 the reserves covered 47% of the debt. In Jan-June 2014 they shrank by 20.7%.
As of Jan 1 2014 Armenia's national debt made up 1.9tln AMD or $4.6bln, wherein foreign debt was 1.6tln AMD or $3.9bln. The gold and foreign exchange reserves made up $2.3bln. As of Jan 2013 Armenia's national debt made up 1.8tln AMD or $4.4bln, wherein foreign debt was 1.5tln AMD or $3.7bln. The gold and foreign exchange reserves made up $1.8bln.