YEREVAN – Armenia's Central Bank plans to stick with a tough monetary policy and sees no danger of a run on the dram national currency, the chairman of the Central Bank said.

"The Central Bank will maintain a constant tough monetary policy. It is possible to state that there won't be any major changes in the financial sphere this year," Tigran Sargsyan said in an interview.

He said the bank would let the dram float around 547 to the dollar – the rate projected in the 2000 draft budget – and try to keep annual inflation to about 5 percent.

He said the Central Bank's tough monetary policy was a precondition for macroeconomic stability in the country. "We can lose one of the economy's main achievements – macroeconomic stability – if we don't meet tough monetary demands," Sargsyan said.

He added one of the most important tasks now was to move from macroeconomic stability to microeconomic development. "I think 2000 will be critical from this point," he said.

Sargsyan said the Central Bank intended to continue stable relations with international financial organizations, but would try to reduce Armenia's dependence on foreign credits.

Armenia expected $40-$45 million credits from the World Bank this year, which is less than in 1999. Negotiations on a new program with the International Monetary Fund would be continued in March, he said.