ArmInfo.On behalf of the Government of Armenia, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan delivered a message at a high-level event entitled "Financing for Development in the COVID-19 Era", initiated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Prime Ministers of Canada and Jamaica.
The appeal, which was distributed by the press service of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, in particular, notes that against the backdrop of the most powerful crisis of our time caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, the proposed platform is important for discussions to understand together what this means for the global economy and how to overcome it. "The coronavirus does not recognize borders and nationalities. It has affected the lives of each of us, and we can only resist it by joint efforts. Its socio- economic consequences are already obvious and will continue to have a serious impact on the lives of many people, as its negative trends will lead to difficulties which will not always be the classic problems we face.
Believing that the health and safety of our citizens are of paramount importance, many of us have imposed various restrictions on economic activity and free movement, which has led to disruption of supplies worldwide. Regardless of the level of development, all economies seriously injured. Businesses are trying to optimize the crisis in order to overcome their costs, as people lose their jobs and as a result reduce their costs. Unfortunately, it became clear to us that at some point it would be difficult to intervene in this cyclic process, since the available funds to combat the epidemic are not enough.
As the global economy needs to develop more innovative and targeted tools to overcome this crisis, it is more than ever clear that we need to set new standards for cooperation and mutual support to rebuild our economies, "said the message from the Deputy Prime Minister.
Mher Grigoryan noted that in recent years the Armenian economy has grown by an average of 7%. The government approved a series of measures to mitigate the socio-economic consequences of the epidemic. "However, our preliminary calculations show that the economy will decline in 2020, recording a negative GDP growth of -2%. In order to increase the economic and financial resistance of our country, we continue to develop new measures to support our citizens, the economy in the short-term and the medium term. As I indicated earlier, it is important that we continue to work together to find a common language for our interconnected world. Therefore, we call for unity, solidarity and a global partnership to cope with the difficulties that still have to be solved. We are ready to do everything possible to contribute to this process. Be healthy and safe, "said the Deputy Prime Minister.