The need for a more diversified economy is a major lesson that Armenia must draw from the period of crisis that it went through last year, according to Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

“It was because of the low level of economic diversification that we saw a steeper economic decline than other countries, which possess a higher level of diversification,” said Sargsyan on Tuesday, reporting on the 2009 state budget fulfillment to Armenian lawmakers.

The appreciation of Armenia’s national currency, the dram, observed in the past two weeks (seeing the dollar exchange rate dropping from 400 per dram down to 375-378) is likely to continue as the economy has seen a 64 percent rise in exports in January-April this year and tendencies for a growing amount of remittances from abroad. But the former Central Bank chairman Bagrat Asatryan still thinks the biggest factor of this continued appreciation is “the desire of some persons.”

Armenia is considering a more optimistic growth scenario this year after showing a faster-than-expected recovery from last year’s steep economic decline so far this year.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said on Thursday that the anti-crisis measures taken by his government have yielded positive results helping the country overcome its worst recession in years.

While Armenia importers and even tourists might be in a celebratory mood as the European Union’s single currency, the Euro, is plunging amid the continuing budget deficit crisis in Greece, experts say the difficulties experienced in Europe do not bode well for the Armenian economy in the longer term.

The price of water for households and corporate consumers in capital Yerevan and nearby areas may be increased by more than 14 percent in July after a utility company has requested such a tariff change from the public services regulatory body.

According to a study by a leading Armenian research center, Armenia showed the greatest economic decline in 2009 among twelve former USSR countries, in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

The year of 2009 was a year full of ordeals for Armenia’s economy, bringing the boisterous growth of the past 10 years to a jarring end.

Economist Tatul Manaseryan, adviser to the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, believes that if domestic and Diaspora resources are properly used, Armenia will see economic growth next year exceeding the government target of 1.2 percent.

So far this year Armenia has seen an 18.3 percent decline. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have predicted that Armenia’s contraction will have reached 15.6 by year’s end, indicating a “growth” that decreases the pace of decline.

A leading international lending institution positively assesses the “anti-crisis” action of the Armenian government, but points out that different wrong steps and approaches had made possible a drastic decline of the economy in 2009.

Talking to media on Thursday International Monetary Fund (IMF) resident representative in Yerevan Nienke Oomes presented the fund’s forecasts for the region for 2010 and said that they expect Armenia to end 2009 with a 15.5 percent economic decline.

The draft 2010 state budget that the opposition has already branded as “a budget of resignation” reduces spending in different sectors of the economy, which, however, does not discourage the ministers in charge of these spheres.

Next year’s budget calls for an expenditure of a total of 859 billion drams (about $2.23 billion), which is by 75 billion drams (about $195 million) less than the budget revenue pattern that had been planned for the current year and by 21 billion drams (about $55 million) less than this year’s planned budgetary expenditure.