Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan todau attended the My Step for Aragatsotn Marz investment forum.

Addressing the forum, the Prime Minister spoke about the country’s current economic situation and stressed that this year is the first full economic year where his government is politically responsible for the economic situation. .

“This year, we will probably have economic growth of plus or minus 7%, which is an important and fairly high indicator for the EAEU and for the European area, in general. Of course, it is understandable that this growth is not an indicator of which we should feel very happy. This year’s economic indicators show that our economic ambitions are real and can become reality. The success of the new issue of Eurobonds, which is of great importance for Armenia’s international economic image, bears witness to this. It is important to note that we had a 3% reduction in the availability of funds compared to 2015, which means that the percentages have improved for our country,” he said.

According to the Prime Minister, USD 500 million-worth of Eurobonds have been issued, but their actual demand is USD 2 billion. The Head of Government noted that in terms of strategic planning, it is important to create transformation projects in Armenia, because there is an opportunity to finance them today.

“Armenia will finish this year in terms of international reserves with a historic record. On December 31, we will have the highest rate of international reserves in the history of the Third Republic, which reflects the stability of our country’s financial system. This year, according to data for the three quarters, the Central Bank made purchases worth USD 433 million. In other words, many foreign exchange resources have emerged, mainly related to the growth of tourism, which opens great prospects for Armenian citizens,” the Prime Minister said, adding that according to the international economic community’s estimates, owing to the issuance of Eurobonds, Armenia’s risks have been halved, which makes the economic environment more favorable.

“I do not want to say that as a success, because we see this as an opportunity and its implementation is a partnership between the government and small and medium-sized businesses.

Today, there is every opportunity for this partnership. There is no separation between government supporters and business people. We consider all entrepreneurs to be our main ally and our most important task is to ensure that all businessmen in the Republic of Armenia feel protected. And that should be the case, because we have no case of redistribution of property during this one-and-a-half year period,” he noted.

According to the Head of Government, it is also an individual effort that should contribute to an economic revolution.

“To overcome poverty, you have to encourage people to start their own business and get up. The charitable model applied in Armenia has degraded our economic relations. In many cases, he has not helped, but has harmed the human being,” Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that the current policy of the government is intended to convey this message to all citizens.

“Every citizen of the Republic of Armenia must realize that he or she must work hard to make a living and that is the meaning of the revolution. There have been dozens of cases in the past where people imported onions, for example, and were denied market access. There is no such problem in our country today,” the Premier pointed out.

Nikol Pashinyan once again stated that the business community is the government’s number one ally in the economic revolution, since they can invest their intelligence, talent, creative abilities and create added value. And for those who do not, the government should support programs, improve education.

“I wish every success to the participants of this forum. I hope that in this creative environment we will hear new creative ideas, new ideas that will help us continue on the path. The economic revolution has begun in the Republic of Armenia, and it first comes to people’s minds. The biggest manifesto of the economic revolution for me is the Hero of Our Times award, which showed the ideology of the revolution,” Nikol Pashinyan said, noting that the revolution did not create these people, but these people created the revolution, which is the most important.

“Today, the number one economic factor is talent, intelligence, honesty and a sense of purpose, because if a writer creates a very good and talented novel, the same goes for any company that creates a talented product, a brand that changes people, reality, fatherland to the best. And so, let us first change ourselves, then our environment, and change our homeland, which should become the land of universal dreams for all of us. Armenia should not be a country of dream for any political team. Instead, we should set our dreams in a big pot in order to forge a national dream, because the economic revolution is called to implement our national aspirations. That is why we must have a powerful state that creates, exports and can bear the burden of a larger pan-Armenia dream,” Prime Minister Pashinyan said.

The Forum presents the region’s business environment, its development prospects, its priority areas and its potential in various fields. Local and foreign investors attend the forum.

The event aims to support investment projects in the region through discussions and exchange of experiences, to establish new business contacts, to identify business sector issues and to develop mechanisms to solve them.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with entrepreneurs from Aragatsotn Marz as part of the My Step for Aragatsotn Marz investment forum.

Issues of interest to business representatives and possible investment programs were discussed at the meeting. In particular, problems related to the development of the wine industry, the creation of new modern vineyards, the provision of credit, the development of infrastructure, including road construction, the uninterrupted supply of electricity, water distribution were discussed.

Referring to the business world, the Prime Minister stressed that in our country, it is necessary to make an appropriate diagnosis on medium and large companies. “It is necessary to change the image and perception of large companies in Armenia. We have to admit that by saying the “big business” we always understand something bad in Armenia, but in reality, changes are underway, and people came to realize that big business is not such a bad phenomenon. Large companies must play a leading role. Unfortunately, so far we are talking about small and medium-sized enterprises with the logic of survival, but small businesses need to become medium-sized enterprises, medium-sized enterprises - large corporations and the latter - global enterprises. We are prepared to do everything so that society does not perceive big business as a vulture that destroys everything. We need to be able to support small and medium-sized businesses, but that does not mean we have to limit opportunities for big business,” he said.

The Head of Government added that we are now seeing a new generation of businessmen in our country and society should see them as one of the most important players.

“With regard to pensions, the solution of the needs of the soldier, education, these needs are met by the taxes of businessmen. They must therefore feel not only the support of the government, but also the attitude of society,” the Prime Minister noted.

In response to a question asked by one of the attendees, Nikol Pashinyan talked about the planned agrarian reform. The Head of Government stressed the importance of the reform and added that the Executive is now working in this direction.

“The structure of our agriculture does not serve national and state aspirations, because by saying agriculture, we continue to understand that a person must suffer and not achieve results. Our task is to develop industrial agriculture, which is impossible without land reform,” the Head of Government said.

Regarding infrastructure, Nikol Pashinyan noted that it is necessary for the state to assume responsibility for the construction of the highway leading to this investment object in the case of specific investment programs. The Prime Minister noted that this principle should be included in next year’s State budget. “It will also be an expression of our attitude,” Nikol Pashinyan said.

Speaking about the “rules of the game”, the Premier stressed that many people say that these rules are not clear. “I would like to point out that there are four rules in the game: Do not steal! This applies to everyone, public servants and ordinary people. The failure to give a cash register ticket at a store is a theft equivalent to corruption. A corrupt official and a shop assistant who does not give a receipt are alike in their dealings. Secondly, we should be more productive! Each citizen should strive to redouble the result. Thirdly, be innovative! Fourthly, be open to cooperation and hold to the team spirit! The latter has to do with the relations between a farmer and a businessman. If they do not declare to be partners, nothing will change. Dialogue is one of the ways to solve these problems,” the Prime Minister said concerning farmer-purveyor relations in the process of grapes procurement.

Coming to the problems faced in the field of power supply, the Prime Minister advised the ENA manager has pledged to invest USD 60 million in 2020.

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In conclusion of the My Step for Aragatsotn Marz business forum, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan summarized the event.

The Head of Government pointed out that booking.com included Armenia in the list of top ten attractive tourist destinations in 2020.

“Thank you for organizing such an event today. Discussions in this format are important. While these forums are held in the regions, they do not matter locally. We discuss issues of nationwide concern. Today, we have seen that there is great economic potential in the Marz, and we are also pleased to see many vigorous people to tap it,” the Prime Minister concluded.

The Premier visited Armenia Wine Ltd, where he got familiarized with the process of grapes harvesting, wine production and the Company’s proposed investment projects.