On 12 August, the delegation of the international rating agency Moody’s visited the Armenian finance and foreign affairs ministries in order to get acquainted with the overall situation in the country.
During the meeting with Armenia's Finance Minister Atom Janjughazyan, the sides spoke on the current state of the Armenian economy, current reforms and prospects for economic development. Another point of interest was the reformed tax code and its anticipated impact, the effectiveness of the fiscal rule, as well as the reforms currently underway in the field of public procurement.
Moody’s delegation also held a meeting with Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Zohrab Mantsakanyan. The recent domestic political developments in the country and the course of implementation of the government’s reforms and the country’s foreign policy priorities were the dominant topics at the meeting. Mnatsakanyan spoke about the cooperation with the EU, especially the role of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement as a tool to promote reforms in the country, as well as Armenia’s fundamental position on and approaches to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, giving special importance to the creation of an environment contributing to peace and the implementation of risk reduction measures.
Moody's Corporation is an essential component of the global capital markets, providing credit ratings, research, tools and analysis that contribute to transparent and integrated financial markets. Moody's Corporation is the parent company of Moody's Investors Service, which provides credit ratings and research covering debt instruments and securities, and Moody's Analytics, which offers top-notch software, advisory services and research for credit and economic analysis as well as financial risk management. The corporation, which reported a revenue of $4.4 billion in 2018, employs approximately 13,200 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 44 countries.
In March 2019, Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook on Armenia's rating from stable to positive and affirmed the B1 long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings. It said the positive outlook was underpinned by macroeconomic policies that should reduce Armenia's vulnerability to external shocks. It was also assumed that the ongoing reforms of the fiscal framework may shore up fiscal strength over time.
