There Are No Restrictions on Economic Activities in Armenia, Says Pashinyan

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, has met with a group of Armenian-Ukrainian businessmen. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Ministers Mher Grigoryan and Hambardzum Matevosyan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan, Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, and Levon Ohanesyan, the Director of the Investment Support Center, as well as Vladimir Karapetyan, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Ukraine.

Welcoming the attendees, the Prime Minister expressed hope that the discussions today would make the presence of businessmen in the Republic of Armenia more practical. "You are probably aware that, fortunately, this year unprecedentedly high economic results have been recorded in Armenia, but that does not mean that we do not have problems. One of the most significant issues of our economic nature is what we have discussed several times. Today, unfortunately, we are unable to fully implement our capital expenditure programs for a simple reason: the capabilities of the private sector in Armenia are not sufficiently developed to fully exploit the potential we offer. We are talking about the construction of roads, schools, kindergartens, and other state-significant facilities, and I would like to draw your attention to this fact," Pashinyan stated.

He added, "Next, I think that we are certainly in a very complicated geopolitical and international situation, the whole world is, and as we see, there are threats and challenges there, but on the other hand, we also have opportunities, including investment opportunities. I would like to draw your attention to this circumstance. As for which directions are more promising and interesting for you, perhaps you can decide better. I can only note something that you have probably heard: that the Republic of Armenia occupies the 11th position in the world in the recently published World Economic Freedom Index, which means that in terms of freedom of investment and economic activities, Armenia ranks 11th among 165 countries in the world. What does this mean? It means that there are no restrictions and limitations on economic activities in Armenia, it means that no one is prohibited from exporting or importing anything, and of course, restrictions or limitations only refer to what concerns everyone. I mean certain legislative regulations and so on. Of course, there are also certain logistical complications in the case of Armenia, but everyone faces difficulties, and there is no alternative approach whatsoever," Pashinyan remarked.

The Prime Minister informed that the Investment Support Center operates under the Ministry of Economy, whose main task is to provide support to entrepreneurs and businesses showing investment interest in Armenia. "And we are also ready to hear your opinions, impressions, perhaps also about some obstacles or difficulties you have encountered in Armenia. It would be interesting, of course, to know about such cases, and in all those instances where we see that solutions are possible, we will provide solutions. There may also be objective difficulties for which finding a solution is unrealistic, but in any case, having complete information is very important for us to consider in our future activities," Pashinyan added.

Following this, the Prime Minister and other government officials present at the meeting answered many questions raised by the businessmen, which related to the reforms being implemented to create a favorable environment for business and so on. The Prime Minister instructed the heads of the responsible departments to maintain constant contact with the businessmen and to provide support within the frameworks of the Government's tools for the effective implementation of projects.