Nikol Pashinyan Reports on Job Creation Compared to 2018

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended an event dedicated to the presentation of the three-year report (2019-2021) of the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF), during which all programs implemented by ANIF during the reporting period were summarized.

In his speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan reminded that ANIF was established three years ago, and during this period, the government has pinned high hopes on it and continues to do so. "But we must emphasize that there are also many pessimists and critics, and events like this are very important for accountability regarding what has been done during this time. I also want to mention what led us to make the decision to establish the fund. Because in both the public administration system and the economy, we see that the most important thing is to have the determination to overcome inertia. Because if we do not demonstrate that determination and political will, we will only be left as observers watching what is happening to our economy, observing the impacts, and merely managing statistics. However, ANIF was created precisely for the purpose of overcoming inertia and trying to provide a new path for our economy, to bring a new logic, a new mood. I hope that we have already approached the line where we should begin to see results," stated the Prime Minister.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Nikol Pashinyan addressed the impact of several decisions made in the past on the economy. "For example, in 2018, we made a political decision to introduce a flat income tax rate in the Republic of Armenia. Do you remember there was also a lot of criticism and pessimism at that time? But I must say that, for instance, based on April data, we have a new absolute record in the labor market of Armenia. This means that as of April, the absolute number of registered jobs in the Republic of Armenia is greater than at any other time in the past. Usually, we consider the last such record to be in December 2021, which is traditionally the month with the highest number of jobs. However, already in April, we have surpassed the previous record by more than 5,000 jobs, and compared to 2018, today we have 123,310 more jobs in the Republic of Armenia. It is important to note that we are speaking not only about registered jobs but also salary-paying jobs, as there are jobs from which income tax is not generated," emphasized the head of government.

Addressing the next important outcome, the Prime Minister added: "At that time, we were discussing, it was very common, and we were also warned that we had risks and could lose budget revenues. However, in terms of income tax, in 2021, we collected 120 billion drams more compared to 2018. This is very important to showcase why it is necessary to overcome inertia, why it is necessary to step outside the standards. There are examples where other countries have applied measures that we need to pay close attention to and demonstrate a creative approach in terms of localization because, fortunately, there are tested economic development models around the world. Of course, we must be careful, but on the other hand, we also need to put our own stamp on that process.

Despite everything, it seems that the economic mood in our country is not bad because, based on the first quarter data, we have a real growth of 8.6 percent in gross domestic product, and compared to last year, we have an additional 574 billion drams in trade turnover in the first four months. This shows that there is a certain mood. In the near future, we expect the launch of the activities of the new airline established by the Armenian government, i.e., through ANIF, along with several interesting investment projects. We hope that ANIF's presence in the Armenian economy will become increasingly visible, of course, with positive and bright indicators."

Overall, through various programs with partners in different sectors of the Armenian economy, ANIF is investing $214 million, of which 91 percent is from partners, and 9 percent is from ANIF. During its 2.5 years of activity, more than ten memorandums and agreements have been signed by ANIF with internationally recognized companies.

Thanks to ANIF, two major investment projects of strategic significance for the country have been launched:

• Construction of the "Aig-1" solar power plant with a capacity of 200 MW in collaboration with Masdar company, located in the Talin and Dashadag communities of Aragatsotn Province.
• Establishment of "Fly Arna Armenian National Airlines" in collaboration with Air Arabia.

ANIF's subsidiary, the "Entrepreneur+State" investment fund continues to support local companies through investments. To date, the fund has implemented investment projects totaling approximately $10 million in 6 companies, resulting in the creation and upcoming creation of over 170 jobs in collaboration with companies such as "Father and Son Yeremyans," "Amber Capital," "Food Republic," "Future Projects," and "Global Connect."

The aim of the fund's activities is to stimulate the inflow of private capital into the economy and to ensure long-term and sustainable capital growth through attracting private investment and expanding economic opportunities.

In order to stimulate the development of the investment environment in Armenia, the ARFI (Armenian Financed) program will be launched this year, aiming to diversify investment activities onto online platforms, thus enlarging the scope of potential investments.