Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today attended the “My Step for Lori Marz” investment business-forum in Vanadzor, which brings together numerous Armenian and foreign businessmen and investors.

Welcoming the participants, Nikol Pashinyan stated, in part: “The main issue in the air is whether the economic revolution us feasible in the Republic of Armenia and whether the government and the people of Armenia can succeed in what is internationally deemed to be an economic miracle? The answer to this question is evident. The nation that succeeded in what we can call a political miracle, can implement an economic miracle. The economic revolution is our most important priority, but we need to understand its indicators – new jobs, new income level and higher living standards.”

The Prime Minister added that the economic revolution first of all implies a new level of prosperity. “Let us see who can achieve it economically, who is the author of any result? The man is supposed to do this, and we want to encourage and support all those capable of creating added value. We can also encourage people by means of words. Unfortunately, in our reality, it is common to underestimate the word’s true value. As the first nation to have adopted Christianity, we should state that everything starts with words and thoughts, but not only with words, of course. Our next important task is to create real economic opportunities through regulations, eradication of monopolies and corruption, legislative reforms and improvements,” the Premier said.

According to the Head of Government, the political revolution came when every citizen of Armenia decided that they should block the streets where corruption and irresponsibility thrived. “The economic revolution must be carried out by every citizen of the Republic of Armenia. Everyone needs to block those conventional streets where poverty and despair thrives. We should agree that we must implement the economic revolution together, because the methodology of change should be the same. The new situation is different in that there are no unlawful and illegitimate guarantees: everyone is equal and no one can share the business responsibility with the government. No one can create artificial obstacles for business,” Nikol Pashinyan emphasized.

The Premier pointed out that the responsibility of economic revolution can actually be borne by courageous people, by those businessmen who are confident in their diligence, honesty and principles, who are winners of the kind. “I know that there are winning businessmen in Armenia. Indeed, the economic revolution is to be carried out with the help of brave people who believe in their ideas, powers and talents. I want to state that many of you have joined this forum by virtue of your trust in your power rather than in that of the government. I do believe that everyone sitting here knows that he is a winner; you know how to get richer and enrich others. First of all, I would like to thank you for your readiness, which is the strongest pledge. I am convinced that the Armenian political miracle will be followed by the Armenian economic miracle. I want to once again make public the motto of the economic revolution: “We have had enough sitting idle, let us get up and walk?” Nikol Pashinyan said.

More than 50 investment projects aimed at developing tourism, agriculture, industry, information technologies and other spheres in Lori Marz will be presented at the business forum. Panel discussions will be held within the framework of the conference.

An exhibition of local products is on with the participation of over 40 companies. Prime Minister Pashinyan toured the exhibition and got acquainted with the products on display.

The business forum in Lori has been initiated by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development and Marz administrations as part of this year’s regional business forums as sponsored by SME DNC. 8 more forums will be held this year in other regions of Armenia.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan got acquainted with the construction of Basic School N7 in Vanadzor, coordinated by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development and the Armenian Territorial Development Fund. The school is being built under the Seismic Safety Improvement Program as implemented by the Government of Armenia and the Asian Development Bank. Boasting modern engineering approaches, the seismic-resistant school will meet the best international standards. It will serve as a shelter for the local population in case of natural disasters.

The Premier was told that the construction activities will be completed by this May. The educational institution will be supplied with modern equipment and technical means. Nikol Pashinyan attached importance to the quality of construction, stressing that it should be kept under strict control.

The school will host two parallel streams covering 432 pupils altogether. The Prime Minister was told that the 3857 square meters-wide two-storey building shall consist of three buildings interconnected with seismic-resistant joints. The former building was dismantled after being recognized as badly damaged in the 1988 earthquake. Classes are currently being held in Technopark’s three-storey administrative building. The total cost of the project is over one billion drams.

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Reference: The Seismic Safety Improvement Program is implemented on the basis of a loan agreement between the Government of Armenia and the Asian Development Bank.

The program’s total budget is USD 107 million, of which the bank’s loan is USD 88.5 million, with the balance of USD 18.5 million to be co-funded by the state. The program’s main target is to provide safe learning environments for at least 18,900 students. 46 schools will be built in Armenia under the Seismic Safety Improvement Program.

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As part of the investment business forum, being held in Vanadzor under the motto “My Step for Lori Marz,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan discussed with a group of business people a number of investment programs to be implemented in various sectors of the economy. The Head of Government was introduced to their initiatives aimed at creating new production facilities and jobs.

Prime Minister Pashinyan said his government ready to assist them with the implementation of the proposed projects with all available tools. Then the Prime Minister attended the discussion of those investment programs presented at the forum. Various projects will be implemented in agriculture, engineering, tourism and in the field of infrastructures.

Prime Minister Pashinyan also visited the Vanadzor Technology Center to get acquainted with the startups and the activities of programming and engineering laboratories. The Premier was presented the works of High-Tech Gateway, Omni Code, ArchiDutch on web programming, microelectronic programming and the development of architectural projects. The Head of Government also called at the engineering and computer labs.

The Technology Center provides monthly trainings for IT specialists, covering several hundred specialists. Many of them are now working in well-known companies, including Vanadzor branches. Trainings are also organized for other target groups, including schoolchildren (10-14 years old), as well as courses on computer-aided engineering design.

Highlighting the Center’s importance, Prime Minister Pashinyan called on start-ups to develop effective programs for which the government will provide all necessary assistance.

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Summing up the My Step for Lori Marz investment forum in Vanadzor, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called it a meaningful event.

“This is indeed a new milestone. The idea should encompass all other areas. The Marz Governors saw that the events to come should not be inferior to this benchmark,” the Prime Minister said and thanked the organizers of the forum.

“The forum demonstrated that there are new business opportunities available in Armenia. We are ready to provide support in realizing these opportunities. We have good news in this respect: Ameria Bank offered its services in terms of assessing the risks of those promising investment programs worthy of attention. We agreed that upon receipt of their assessment, the government will give information on the most significant investment projects to attract investors.

I want to draw your attention to what is the key to economic revolution. Partner programs, or otherwise, the corporate programs used to be unsuccessful in Armenia. People often avoided them under the following logic: “I will open my business; I will be my own master, I do not want to have affairs with others.” However, here we saw dozens of projects that may be successful in the logic of partnership.

This statement has a turning point. Unfortunately, we often hear that the logic of partnership ends up in deception in Armenia, and in this sense a new logic must act in New Armenia. Any entity should first of all treat its partners with a sense responsibility. When communicating with potential investors, I can see that this inertia still exists. But I think that this is the result of the old thinking, and we should make every effort for the new logic to be effective in New Armenia.

There must be a new partnership culture, we must get out of the logic of deception, and people must stand shoulder to shoulder to achieve greater common success, attract new people and make new people part of this success. This is my most important conclusion from today’s discussion.

I wish all partners mutual trust. Many of you demonstrated their willingness to embrace a new vision of the world. The task of these people is to make the world perceived by them a reality in their village, their region, their homeland and their country.

I wish you every success along this path. I wish all partners mutual trust, which is the most important value. Mutual trust is the key to success in joint ventures.

I hope that the proposed investment programs will bring together new people to forge a new type of partnership, in which trust will continue to grow just as it has grown between society and the government. Trust is the most important foundation on which to build New Armenia.

We no longer live in a country where it is commonplace to deceive one’s partners. We live in a country where mutual trust is the most important principle, and it should be deemed as the groundwork for creating ever new values,” Prime Minister Pashinyan concluded.