YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN. "After the release of preliminary macroeconomic indices for January-August 2009, we can say with confidence that we have already reached the lowest point of the economic decline," RA Minister of Finance Tigran Davtian stated at the September 29 meeting with reporters. According to him, a 0.1% growth was recorded for the first time after 18.5% decline of GDP in 8 months. "It means that we have already reached the lowest point of the decline, after which, hopefully, a slow recovery of the economy will begin. This process is quite hard, but I think this tendency will have a more stable manifestation in the coming months," the minister said, adding that as a result of that, the 18.5% decline will be reduced to 15% at the end of the year. "I believe out forecasts are close to reality," T. Davtian noted. In his words, by attracting loans from outside, the government managed to maintain the level of expenditures envisaged by the 2009 budget. Out of the envisaged expenditures of 945bn drams, expenditures of 900-910bn drams will be incurred in late 2009, with the sums on social and economic development-related measures being spent fully. The minister said it became possible to implement the 2009 budget at the expense of the loans received, to which the fact that the law passed by the RA National Assembly has allowed to raise the budget deficit to 7.5% of GDP has contributed as well. He announced that in 2010 it is envisaged lowering the budget deficit to 5.6-5.7%. "We should be more cautious and conservative in 2010. We want to gradually - year by year - lower the budget deficit to the international level," T. Davtian noted, adding that the deficit of Armenia's budget used to be up to 3%.

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