Yerevan /Mediamax/. Mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will present a proposal on provision of a USD 74mln loan to Armenia to the consideration of IMF Board of Directors.

Mediamax reports that Head of the Mission Mark Lewis said this in Yerevan. Consideration of provision of means to Armenia is planned for late March, 2010.

According to IMF Mission assessments, the macroeconomic indices of Armenia have started stabilizing, and in 2010 they expect reestablishment of real GDP, which, according to the Fund’s forecasts, will make 2%.

Mark Lewis noted that inflation increased in Armenia in 2009, although this fact was mainly conditioned by external factors. He noted that this tendency will be preserved in the first two months of 2010, and following the results of the year, IMF forecasts inflation within the limit of 6% in Armenia.

Speaking about the Armenian financial sector, IMF Mission Head described it as stable. According to Lewis, in 2009, the financial system of Armenia proved its ability to withstand shocks.

Mark Lewis also touched upon the tax-budgetary policy, noting that it aims at stimulating economy and realizing priority social programs. The deficit of the budget is planned to be decreased from 7.5% of GDP to 6%, and this, according to Mark Lewis, is quite realizable.