Between Inflation and Economic Growth: The Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia Outlines the Regulator's Priorities

YEREVAN, February 3. /ARKA/. In response to a question from the ARKA news agency, Martin Galstyan, the Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, highlighted the key factors influencing the regulator's priorities for early 2026 – whether to support economic growth or to focus on controlling inflation.

"The Central Bank has a constitutional duty to our society to manage inflation. It fosters economic growth through careful monetary policy. This necessitates a stable and predictable inflation environment, enabling businesses to invest without the fear of fluctuations. Consequently, this leads to economic growth," Galstyan stated during a press conference.

He mentioned that the regulator consistently faces a dilemma between short-term economic growth stimulation and inflation management.

"Nevertheless, the Central Bank is not currently assigned the task of merging long-term economic growth with inflation control within a single mandate. Only a handful of central banks globally tackle both employment and inflation simultaneously, and their outcomes are not deemed successful. Most experts argue that it is more logical to empower central banks with a mandate focused on regulating inflation throughout the entire economic framework of the country rather than spreading the Central Bank's responsibilities across multiple areas," the head of the regulator remarked.

The state budget of Armenia anticipates an economic growth of 5.1% for 2025 and 5.4% for 2026. According to the Central Bank's monetary policy report for the fourth quarter, GDP growth in Armenia is projected to be between 5.9% and 5.9% in 2025, between 6.3% and 4.1% in 2026, and between 4.9% and 5.3% in 2027.-0-