Armenia successfully meets economic growth targets a 7.7% economic growth– debate

February 5, 2018 By administrator

The economic growth targets, outlined in the political parties’ pre-election platforms, have been by and large met in Armenia over the past year to secure a tangible progress, according to politicians.

In a speech at a public debate entitled “Governing Political Parties’ Promises and the Reality: What was Promised and What is Being Done?”, the secretary of the ruling Republican faction in parliament, Gagik Melikyan, addressed particularly their coalition program with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun (ARF-D), highlighting the faster paces of progress compared to the other countries in the region.

“In 2017, we managed to secure a 7.7% economic growth, as well as a higher gross domestic product, and an economic activity above 12%. I find it really very important as [such a result] is not easily achievable, especially in a region like ours,” he said.

According to Suren Parsyan, a top representative of the ARF-D Development and Economic Research Center, the coalition plan was based largely upon the two parties’ pre-election programs and “progressive ideas and opinions proposed by the society”.

“We particularly [proposed a plan] for securing a 5% annual economic growth. And we have been able to realize that objective, increasing the exports to 40% against the GDP. So our export growth is 25.2% this year; we additionally intend to increase the salaries by 25%, considering specific steps and making specific calculations for that purpose,” he added.

Gagik Makaryan, the president of the Republican Union of Employers, also admitted the existing positive dynamics.

“Fact-based analyses, conducted among hundreds of employers since 2016, revealed seven basic obstacles, including specifically the shadow [income] and poor governance, corruption and unequal competition,” he said, stressing further the importance of confidence-building as the most important precondition to future progress.

Armenia, Egypt resume economic talks for fist time in 12 years

September 28, 2017 By administrator

Armenia and Egypt have kicked off a new round of talks on economic and technical cooperation for the first time in over a decade, Egypt’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, September 27, Ahram Online says.

Experts from the two countries met for the fifth round of a bilateral cooperation committee, Egypt’s ambassador to ArmeniaTarek Maaty said in a statement.

The committee last met in Cairo in 2005.

The talks are especially important as they highlight “the determination of the two sides to push forward economic, trade and technical cooperation,” the statement added.

A number of agreements are expected to be signed on bilateral cooperation.

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan has said he looks forward to a visit by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to the country, Maaty said.

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian also renewed his invitation to Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry to visit Yerevan.

In July, Egypt and Armenia launched a regular flight connection between the two countries, as they celebrated 25 years since the signing of a 1992 agreement creating bilateral diplomatic ties.

Turkey rift: German politicians demand economic pressure

August 28, 2017 By administrator

Top German lawmakers have urged the EU to halt aid payments to Turkey and halt talks on a new customs union deal. The calls come as Berlin has revealed details of another German national detained in Turkey.

The leader of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) Martin Schulz, on Sunday accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of establishing a political tyranny and called on the European Union to scrap any further negotiations on expanding its customs union with Turkey.

“How much longer can one allow that a president, who has already lost all sense of restraint domestically, also loses every sense of restraint internationally?” Schulz said in an interview with German public broadcaster ARD. “Can we continue to accept that innocent German citizens languish in prisons in a country ruled by tyranny?”

According to the German government, 54 German nationals are being held in detention in Turkey, ten of which are for political reasons. Two of the most high-profile detainees are jailed journalist Deniz Yücel and rights activist Peter Steudtner.

Schulz, the main challenger to Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in next month’s federal election, warned that Germany would have to seek its own hardline measures against Turkey if Erdogan refused to cooperate.

One measure would be to halt any talks of expanding Turkey’s customs union with the EU. Ankara has made no secret of its ambition to boost market access for Turkish enterprises in the EU and sees the current arrangement, agreed back in 1995, as too restrictive.

Armenia nominates key partners in the economic field

August 4, 2017 By administrator

On Thursday, August 3, the Armenian government presented the list of its main economic partners, with which it has set itself the priority to develop its links. At the top of this list are 14 countries, including Russia, the United States, China, and the main members of the European Union. The list, which also includes the Iranian and Georgian neighbors, was drawn up by the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and approved by Prime Minister Karen Karapetian at the weekly Cabinet meeting. It calls on the Armenian Government to make every effort to boost Armenian exports to these countries and to attract more investment and tourists.

K. Karapetian called on the Armenian embassies in the countries concerned to do so. “Special attention must be paid to the countries quoted,” Armenian Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian said at the meeting of the Council of Ministers, adding that the circle of the major economic partners of Armenia Was bound to widen thereafter. In its political program approved by the National Assembly last June, K.Karapetian’s government identified export development and the ability to attract foreign investment as its priorities. At the beginning of the year, the government undertook to ensure a double-digit increase in Armenian exports in the years to come. Although Russia ranks high on Armenia’s list of partners, and for good reason, since it remains its main economic and trade partner, on the other hand, it is not surprising that Armenia’s partners In the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a union of ex-Soviet Republics led by Russia, which Armenia had enthusiastically embraced in January 2015.

The list, on the other hand, EU; Including France, Germany and Italy, with which Armenia had to limit its integration, because of rallying to the Eurasian Union of Putin. Armenian officials have preferred not to expand on this aspect. “The choice of countries is not conditioned by our membership in the EEU or any other union,” said Deputy Minister of Economic Development Garegin Melkonian in front of journalists, adding that “this list is destined to be extended in the future”.

According to the official figures of the Armenian government, Russia alone accounts for 97% of the trade volume between the Army and its EEU partners, about $ 760 million for the first half of the current year. Even if it is a member of the EEU, Armenia has privileged trade relations with the EU and the United States, two huge markets to which its exporters can access much more freely in terms of taxes. For the first six months of the year, Armenia’s trade volume with the EU and the United States amounted to $ 677 million and $ 73 million, respectively. Over the past decade, China has become one of Armenia’s main partners, and trade between the two countries has increased by 35% between January and June, reaching $ 243 million. Iran is also expected to become a major partner of Armenia, as Armenian President Serge Sarkisian recalled on the eve of an official visit to Tehran.

Friday, August 4, 2017,
Gari © armenews.com

Armenian government sets up Meghri free economic zone company

August 3, 2017 By administrator

YEREVAN, August 3. /ARKA/. The government of Armenia decided today to establish a state-owned closed joint-stock company – Meghri Free Economic Zone. The company’s authorized capital is 50,000 drams (less than $100). The company is created to ensure the establishment and operation of the free economic zone.

The free economic zone in the southern Armenian Meghri, near the border with Iran is estimated to cost $32 million, of which $28 million are capital expenditure. It is said to create 2,500 new jobs and increase Armenian exports by 30%.

According to the government, the main purpose of the free economic zone is to help boost trade and economic relations with Iran and other countries of the region, help the development of the southern Armenian province of Syunik, as well as position Armenia as a link between Iran and members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Georgia.

About 120 foreign companies will be hosted by the free economic zone, which are expected to invest a total of $350-400 million. This in turn will allow exporting $100 million worth products annually.

Russia, Iraq call for closer economic, military cooperation

July 26, 2017 By administrator

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki have held a meeting, during which they underlined the need for the reinforcement of bilateral “economic” and “military-technical” relations.

The meeting took place in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Tuesday.

Putin said that Russia and Iraq have set up “an intergovernmental commission” that is currently working “at full capacity.”

He added, however, that “a lot has yet to be done in terms of economic cooperation…, specifically military-technical cooperation. Russia is proactive in this area, and Iraq benefits from its assistance.”

Paying his third visit to Russia, Maliki said, “With every visit, we take yet another step toward the common goal of further improving our relations.”

Moscow and Baghdad have contacts in the energy, economic and the military-technical fields and are engaged in the implementation of a number of bilateral cooperation agreements, he noted.

Maliki also emphasized that Russia and Iraq “have very good potential for [further] cooperation, and our strategic choice is based on an understanding of the importance of the role of Russia in the region and Iraq.”

The Iraqi vice president further hailed Russia’s active role in the fight against terrorists operating in the region.

“Russia has made a tremendous contribution, in particular in Syria and Iraq, to prevent the disintegration of the region,” he said, warning that without Moscow, “the map of the region would have changed for the worse for us.”

Russia took an “honorable stance” when it agreed to the speedy delivery of weapons to Iraq after the rise of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group in the Arab country, Maliki pointed out.

Meanwhile, Dmitry Shugaev, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, said that Putin and Maliki had “touched upon” the supply of Russian T-90 battle tanks to Baghdad during Tuesday’s meeting.

According to Russian media reports, the deal could exceed $1 billion.

On Monday, Maliki sat down with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, Valentina.

During the meetings, the Iraqi official urged “substantial” Russian military and political presence in the terror-ravaged country, stressing that this would bring “balance” to the entire region.

Daesh unleashed its campaign of death and destruction in Iraq in 2014, seizing the northern city of Mosul and declaring it as its stronghold in the Middle Eastern country.

Iraqi army soldiers and allied volunteer fighters have been leading a major operation to rid the country of Takfiri elements. The Iraqi forces fully liberated Mosul earlier this month.

Armenian-Israeli economic cooperation discussed in Yerevan

July 26, 2017 By administrator

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on Wednesday received the Israeli minister of regional cooperation, who is in Yerevan on an official visit .

Greeting Tzachi Hanegbi in his office, the chief of Armenia’s cabinet expressed the country’s interest in developing cooperation with Israel to intensify particularly the economic dialogue, reports the Government’s press service.

Emphasizing his country’s willingness to deepen the economic partnership with Armenia, the Israeli official for his part attached importance to the recently launched direct flights between Tel Aviv and Yerevan.

He said that his visit is aimed at considering, and identifying possible avenues of cooperation in the IT sector, economy, tourism, trade and agriculture.

Armenia PM: Govt. proposes most rapid economic change possible

November 21, 2016 By administrator

Armenia’s Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan said on Saturday, November 19 that the country needs “profound change,” adding that “we’re proposing the most rapid change that’s possible,” including measures to combat corruption by streamlining bureaucracy and a government fund to support enterprise, Bloomberg reports.

“Businesses shouldn’t be obstructed” by corrupt officials seeking payments for administrative decisions or by dominant rivals using political ties to restrict competition, said Karapetyan, a former mayor of Yerevan who took office after returning from Russia, where he worked in Moscow since 2012 for a subsidiary of Gazprom PJSC, the world’s largest natural-gas exporter.

“We will create an even, competitive, level playing field.”

Armenia’s foreign debt is $5.8 billion with GDP at $10 billion, while growth of 3.2% in 2017 won’t be enough to raise living standards significantly, Karapetyan said. “We also have external debt growing faster than the GDP growth and growing faster than revenues,” he said.

Changes in the leadership of the customs service and in the tax code are improving transparency, and he won’t allow dominant players to use “administrative support that isn’t available to others” to suppress competition, Karapetyan said. “No one is immune and no one is privileged,’’ he said.

Armenia rejected a trade pact with the European Union to enter the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union of former Soviet states in January last year.

While critics say there’s been no economic benefit so far, nobody knows what would have happened if Armenia hadn’t joined and “the negative impact could have been much greater,” while membership doesn’t stop Armenia developing EU trade, Karapetyan said.

Armenia’s also seeking to bolster trade with Iran following the lifting of international sanctions over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Karapetyan said he’s ordered plans developed by December 25 to implement a free economic zone near Armenia’s southern border to boost ties in areas including agriculture and food production.

Armenia’s in a “challenging” position after absorbing “tremendous shocks” when Russia’s ruble devalued following the fall in oil prices, Teresa Daban Sanchez, the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative in Yerevan, said in an interview.

Karapetyan further said that “we clearly understand that reduced public spending may have a downside effect,” while businesses are delaying investment until after the elections. Amid speculation he’s a short-term appointment to improve the ruling Republican party’s prospects, it’s “inappropriate’’ to say if he’ll be prime minister after the vote because nobody can predict the outcome, he said.

Even so, he’s seeking to develop clear long-term plans over the next six months so that “from 2018 we’ll have sustainable year-on-year growth,’’ Karapetyan said.

Brussels: Turkey could face economic sanctions

November 13, 2016 By administrator

eu-sanction-on-turkey Hard-line President Recep Tayyip Erdogan risks losing Turkey’s lucrative customs union with the EU, its main trading partner. European Parliament chief Martin Schulz has said economic sanctions are being considered.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz has confirmed rumors in Brussels that EU leaders at their summit in December could opt for economic sanctions in response to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ongoing crackdown on dissent – instead of terminating controversial EU accession talks.

Schulz told Germany’s “Bild am Sonntag” newspaper that breaking off talks with Turkey would rob the EU of the channels to help Turkey’s opposition and the tens of thousands held in detention since July’s failed putsch.

Instead, Schulz said: “We as the EU will have to consider which economic measures we can take.”

He warned, however, that should Turkey under Erdogan reintroduce the death penalty – in breach of its obligations within the 47-nation Council of Europe – then accession negotiations “would be ended.”

Trade: Erdogan’s ‘weak spot’

Schulz’s remarks followed a commentary Saturday on German public radio Deutschlandfunk by the Brussels correspondent of “Handelsblatt” Ruth Berschens.

Since the signing of the customs union in 1995, the deal on duty-free exchanges in industrial products had made the EU Turkey’s biggest trading partner, Berschens wrote.

Erdogan has wanted to widen the customs union to include more of the agricultural and service industries, she said.

Should the EU terminate the customs union, subject to renegotiation since 2015, this would amount to a “bitter setback” for many Turkish companies, she wrote.

“His political rise as chief of the governing AKP party was due especially to his successful economic policies. During Erdogan’s [prime ministerial] period of government, a new middle class emerged in Turkey,” Berschens said.

“The president cannot betray their interests; otherwise he could lose political support across the country,” she said.

“That is Erdogan’s ‘weak spot,'” alongside the EU’s deal on refugees reached in March and Turkey’s role as NATO partner hosting troops from alliance nations.

“Exasperation is mounting among Europeans. In Brussels something is brewing. If the Turkish president persists [on his current course] then a decision could be made at the EU summit in December that could hurt Erdogan,” Berschens predicted.

The European Commission had numerous reasons for not breaking off protracted talks on Turkey’s bid for EU accession, she continued, adding that Brussels would walk “into a trap” set by Erdogan.

“The Turkish president is only waiting for the EU to finally place the stool before the door,” said Berschens and added that Europe and especially Germany still had good reputations in Turkey.

“Erdogan doesn’t want to take personal responsibility for a final rupture with Europe, because he would end up in great distress explaining himself to his fellow citizens,” she said. “Many Turks reject a total break with Europe.”

Cumhuriyet head detained

Meanwhile, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said late Saturday that Akin Atalay, the chief executive director of the Turkish opposition newspaper “Cumhuriyet,” had been remanded in custody after returning from Germany.

Nine other “Cumhuriyet” staff and executive members are already under arrest.

Since Ankara declared a state of emergency in July following an attempted coup, some 37,000 people have been arrested in Turkey and more than 100,000 government employees have been dismissed or suspended. More than 170 media outlets have been shut down.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus claimed Saturday that the closures were necessary in order to address multiple terror threats.

Armenia officials to be fined for obstructing economic competitiveness

October 6, 2016 By administrator

economic-competitiveness YEREVAN. – State officials in Armenia will hereafter be fined for hindering economic competitiveness.

The respective draft amendments to the Law on Economic Competitiveness were approved at Thursday’s Cabinet session.

Accordingly, the officials, who get in the way of a company’s activities and back another company, will pay a fine of up to 5 million drams (approx. US$10,550).

Correspondingly, such activities by any business-related government agency will be considered such an offense.

Under the current law, these actions are also punishable as abuse of power. But, from now on, the violations that hinder economic competitiveness will be punished separately in Armenia.