VIDEO: Prime Minister Meets with Businessmen at Government

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting in the government with members of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Armenia, representing companies operating in various sectors of the economy.

The Prime Minister noted that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the current economic situation in the country: "It should be regrettably noted that we have lost the pace of economic growth we had in 2019 and in the first quarter of this year, and we have a problem to discuss how we will get out of the crisis. From the very first days of the coronavirus pandemic, like many countries, we have faced a very difficult daily choice. On one hand, there was the priority of public health, and on the other, the priority of the economy. The fact that in April we had around 70,000 job cuts was a signal for us that our policy needs to be more balanced between health and economic priorities. In fact, we made the decision to guide ourselves in comparison with the epidemiological situation, perhaps not fully consistently, and began to expand certain economic activities," said the Prime Minister.

Pashinyan expressed satisfaction that by May, a significant portion of the lost jobs had been restored. "Yesterday, we also summarized the June data, and I can note that this trend continues. Despite the need to analyze and understand the statistics at hand, which show that in June 2020 we have more jobs compared to June 2019, along with a larger wage fund and an increased average salary. We are analyzing why this is the case. It is very possible that this is related to our policy of reducing shadow employment, but nevertheless, the figures are there, and this is the data from the State Revenue Committee, which is confirmed and exists in specific reports, and salaries have been paid for all these jobs, with income tax reports submitted," emphasized the Prime Minister.

Referring to the situation regarding the coronavirus, the Prime Minister noted that it remains tense overall, but on the other hand, it is visible that the burden on the healthcare system is easing. "In essence, we can cautiously assess that we are entering a phase of overcoming the healthcare crisis of the coronavirus, provided that we continue to adhere to the anti-epidemic regulations that are established. Why am I saying this? Because actions aimed at expanding the pandemic are being promoted by certain circles in Armenia, particularly concerning masks. It is clear for us that the easing of this tension is primarily the result of the implementation of mask-wearing measures, there is no doubt about that. If we do not consistently continue this process, there is no doubt that we will see an increase in numbers, and this is illustrated by examples from other countries. We see that those countries that have not had mandatory mask-wearing until at least recently are now being forced to make that decision in turn. We too are compelled to make that decision, it is clear that it is unpleasant, it is not pleasurable for our citizens to be mandated to wear masks, it is not pleasant for all of us to be seated in masks, but we must of course take steps that arise from the situation," emphasized the head of government, highlighting the importance of finally bringing the coronavirus situation under control, so that the government can fully proceed to discussing the economic agenda.

"Because now in discussing all issues, there are two scales: one is healthcare, the other is economic, and we must solve the pandemic issue on one of those scales and fully move to the agenda of economic recovery, which is of course a priority for our country. I want to once again emphasize that the economy, first of all, is formed added value and revenues to the state budget, which also ensure our country's security needs. This has been a priority, it is a priority, and it will continue to be a priority. And we must work not only to directly overcome the economic crisis, but we must also have the issue before us of having a qualitatively new level of economy and new type of economy. In this regard, I want to once again emphasize the crisis as an opportunity in our conceptual framework, and particularly remind that our government program sets as a priority to make Armenia a country with a high-tech, industrial economy, an economy that is export-oriented, which is also very important. Our discussion today should be dedicated to how we should cooperate to serve this agenda and make it a reality," said Prime Minister Pashinyan.

The President of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Armenia, Arsen Ghazaryan, thanked the Prime Minister and added that the economy is now moving into a recovery phase due to the government's anti-crisis economic measures. In particular, Arsen Ghazaryan emphasized the projects implemented to support job retention and small businesses.