Finance minister: Armenia plans to increase share of external debt

Armenia plans to raise the share of its external debt to ease pressure on the domestic banking system and maintain liquidity, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan announced on Monday.

He highlighted that despite an increase in debt servicing costs, the debt service-to-GDP ratio is expected to stabilize in 2026 due to declining interest rates in global and domestic markets.

Hovhannisyan said Armenia expects to save nearly 40 billion drams in debt servicing expenses. Internal debt will remain below 50% of total public debt, while fixed-rate obligations will account for around 86.8% in 2026, with treasury bonds comprising 48.6%.