Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took part in a reception organized at the Central Bank on the occasion of the New Year and Christmas. Nikol Pashinyan congratulated the personnel of the Central Bank and the banking sector of Armenia on the coming holidays, wishing them success and all the best.

In his speech the Prime Minister particularly said.

“Distinguished Chairman of the Central Bank,

Dear representatives of the executive power and the banking sector,

Our economy has gone through very difficult times, I hope we can already say it this way, because the coronavirus pandemic hit since 2020, which was a strong blow to the financial and economic system, followed by the second blow in the form of the war, and then the third blow - the domestic political crisis. We should state that during this entire period the banking sector of the Republic of Armenia, which had previously been able to withstand serious trials, successfully overcame this challenge, and this is extremely important not only for economic, but also for political and psychological stability.

In this regard, I think we should express words of appreciation to the banking sector of Armenia, to the Central Bank for its policy during this difficult period. After all, following the war and the coronavirus we needed a great resource of resistance, serious professionalism in order to be able to maintain the stable situation we have. Especially given the next challenge that came after the coronavirus outbreak, the global challenge of inflation which continues to this day.

In contrast to the banking sector of other countries, our banking sector, in fact, went through double, triple shocks. It’s important to record that the banking sector is not only a very important partner for the Government, but also an indicator, because modern economies, especially the banking sector, are the mirror of moods and in many cases this is a guideline for the Government to develop and implement policies.

I think the dialogue that exists between the Government and the Central Bank is very important in terms of developing and implementing our future strategies. Yes, we should admit that, like in many countries, in many cases in Armenia attempts are made to create certain negative moods around the banking sector, because it is clear that people always take money with pleasure, but returning is not always a pleasant process, mostly due to interest rates.

I recently had the opportunity to say during a discussion about banking sectors. In fact, the modern world is the world created by banks, and this should be recorded with all its disadvantages and advantages. There are many projects that characterize modern civilization, which are growing, evolving, changing the world with huge steps. It should be noted that these mega-projects could not exist in the world if the banking system did not exist.

We have seen such effects in Armenia as well, but I hope that we will be able to implement an agenda of cooperation between the political, economic and financial systems, which will allow to make Armenia a country that meets all modern standards. In this regard, I attach importance to the agenda adopted by the Government to open an era of peaceful development for Armenia and the region, which, I must say, is cadjusted by signals coming from the economy and the banking system, which are often not expressed in texts, but are expressed in numbers, digital signs, statistical data. In this context, I would like to hope that the link between the Government policies and the financial and economic system will be more organic, because that system is the most sensitive indicator that senses risks the earliest, sees opportunities the earliest, which helps the Government to be more operative.

Once again, I want to thank you for the resistance shown over the last two years. I hope that at the state and national level we will finally be able to overcome this situation of survival, procrastination, or short-term thinking, and get out into an era of long-term, stable, peaceful strategic development. In this regard, of course, the role of the banking system is extremely difficult to overestimate. I reiterate, the Central Bank and the banking system are key and essential partners for the Government.

In terms of overcoming the problems caused by the coronavirus, the post-war situation, we have been in a very close partnership, I appreciate that partnership.

Congratulations to all of you, to your families on the coming New Year; we hope that in 2022 it will be really possible to create completely new moods in Armenia and Artsakh, which will be reflected in the reduction of interest rates, prices, exchange rate stability and better moods for investment, working and spending. The Government, of course, is willing to spend, to invest, to point out that strategic perspective by its own example. But all the same, the private sector, the banking system are a very important teammate in this respect, so that we all succeed in that team game and process.”