ArmInfo. Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan met with representatives of the international rating agency, development institutions, and investment organizations in Bangkok as part of the 2026 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG). He also participated in a roundtable discussion on regional economic processes.
In particular, as reported by the Ministry of Finance's press service, representatives of the Armenian Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank met with Janice Hoferber, Global Head of Public, Project, and Infrastructure Finance at Moody's; Anoushka Shah, Senior Vice President in the Sovereign and Sub-Sovereign Risk Group; and Marcus Jue, Assistant Vice President in the Sovereign Risk Group.
During the meeting, the parties discussed Armenia's macroeconomic outlook, fiscal policy priorities, public debt sustainability, and factors for strengthening the economy's resilience to external shocks.
Vahe Hovhannisyan and Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan also took part in a roundtable discussion of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Caucasus and Central Asia, with the participation of IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li. During the event, participants discussed the impact of external factors on the regional economy and economic policy measures aimed at maintaining macroeconomic stability and enhancing resilience.
At a meeting with Antonella Bassani, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, and Alfonso Garcia, Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the participants discussed Armenia's development priorities, opportunities for attracting investment and developing the private sector, and cooperation on infrastructure projects.
At a meeting with Sangbu Kim, World Bank Vice President for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, the participants discussed the digitalization of public administration and public services, the effective use of data, and the potential for applying artificial intelligence to improve public financial management.
According to the source, the Armenian delegation also met with Hussein Khattab, an analyst in Morgan Stanley's emerging markets research group, and Peter Széchenyi, Vice President for Investment Management. The parties discussed the government's macroeconomic policy, the 2027 budget outlook, the financial implications of healthcare reforms, and expenditure policy priorities.
Furthermore, the interlocutors examined economic opportunities and risks arising from regional processes, trade routes, financial flows, and factors influencing the dram exchange rate.
It should be noted that the International Monetary Fund, in updating its forecast in June, did not change its expectations for Armenia's GDP growth, predicting a slowdown in 2026 to 5.3% with a slight acceleration in 2027 to 5.5%.
The World Bank (WB) also maintained its expectations for Armenia's GDP growth in 2026 and 2027 in its July forecast, predicting a slowdown to 5.3% and 5.1%, respectively.
The rating agency In July of this year, Moody's announced a forecast according to which Armenia's real GDP growth in 2026 and 2027 will be 5-5.5%.
