EU says will provide Armenia with 51mn euros to fight coronavirus

• The International Monetary Fund mission is currently conducting a review of an $248 million loan arrangement which the government had previously treated as precautionary.
• The ex-Soviet country of around 3 million had reported 736 cases of the virus by Friday.
• Armenian authorities say the pandemic will slash economic growth that had been forecast at 4.9pc this year.

YEREVAN: The European Union is ready to provide 51 million euros to help support Armenia's economy and healthcare system as it battles to curb the South Caucasus' worst outbreak of the new coronavirus.

The ex-Soviet country of around 3 million had reported 736 cases of the virus by Friday. Seven people have died.

The EU's mission in Armenia said on its Facebook page that the bloc would provide 18 million euros of new funding, with 33 million euros to be redirected from existing projects.

Funds will be used to purchase medical devices and equipment, train medical and laboratory staff and support small and medium-sized enterprises and economic growth in general.

"More is yet to come through access to important regional banking facilities and further restructuring of projects," the EU mission said.

Armenian authorities say the pandemic will slash economic growth that had been forecast at 4.9pc this year.

"In 2020 the economic growth in Armenia will be 0.7pc which is significantly low from the previous forecast, but it will recover in 2021 and be 7.2pc," the central bank said in its quarterly inflation report.

International financial institutions have also pledged support.

The World Bank said on Friday it had allocated $3 million to address Armenia's urgent need for medical equipment and supplies, while the Asian Development Bank gave a $100,000 grant to buy personal protective equipment for medical staff.

The International Monetary Fund mission is currently conducting a review of an $248 million loan arrangement which the government had previously treated as precautionary.

"Now that the global health pandemic has turned into an economic and financial crisis, (the government) may choose to draw on these resources," the IMF's resident representative in Armenia, Yulia Ustyugova, told Reuters.

She said a $105.4 million tranche would be available for Armenia once the current review is successfully completed.

Dimitri Gvindadze, who heads the Armenian office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said it was ready to make funds available for Armenia's private sector, municipal enterprises, energy and infrastructure companies.

"We are ready to deploy a full spectrum of our products and instruments to support Armenia," Gvindadze told Reuters.