Radiolur -- International Monetary Fund (IMF) highly assesses the anti-crisis program of the Armenian government, Head of IMF Mission in Armenia Guillermo Tolosa told a press conference today. “If not the measures taken by the government, the Armenian economy would be in far worse situation today,” he said.

Commenting on the statement of the Armenian Prime Minister on toughening control over reporting of large enterprises, Guillermo Tolosa noted that tax administration and collection of taxes have always been in the center of IMF attention.

“Level of tax collection is low and we are ready to render assistance to increase these indices,” Head of IMF Mission in Armenia stated.

Guillermo Tolosa also touched upon the external debt of Armenia, noting that it has significantly increased over the past year and will continue increasing. However, he expressed confidence that starting from 2010, the external debt of Armenia will start reducing.

The Head of IMF Mission forecasted a 1.8% growth and 6.2% inflation rate by the end of the year.