Gagik Makaryan: Armenia needs concrete actions, not developed concepts

ArmInfo. In Armenia, there is a  problem associated with the transition from words to deeds. This was  stated by the head of the Union of Employers of Armenia Gagik  Makaryan on February 14 at a meeting with journalists, commenting on  the investment ambitions of the Armenian government.

According to him, for the growth of investments, first of all, it is  necessary to form a favorable image of the country, in particular,  through the eradication of corruption and the reduction of the shadow  economy. "The EU and the US have repeatedly stated that work in this  direction is considered a priority, while pointing out that European  and American business can not work in a corrupt country.  Consequently, the fight against corruption automatically becomes a  factor in attracting foreign investment," he said.

According to Makaryan, speaking about the amount of attracted  investments, do not forget that in national legislation there is  still no clear definition of the concept of "investment". "What do we  mean by this word," the expert asks, "means that the private  entrepreneur invested in local business and built a building where he  created production and jobs, or investments for other purposes."  Thus, according to the expert, if we talk only about foreign  investments, then the figure is much inferior to the officially  announced.

However, even if we believe official statistics, every investment  needs to be properly managed. Taking into account the social and  economic situation in the country, according to Makaryan, the  government should invest in skilful areas, which will lead to the  creation of new jobs, reduction of unemployment and, as a result,  poverty reduction. In this context, according to the expert,  investment programs in the sphere of tourism, IT, pharmaceutics,  agriculture, and the garment industry can become promising. "At this  stage, negotiations are being held with European companies to attract  orders to local garment production," Gagik Makaryan said, adding that  the development of the sphere for 2 years can provide jobs for  3-4,000 citizens of the republic.

In addition, as the head of the Union said, in the course of  communication with representatives of the Bulgarian delegation, which  is in Armenia these days, it became known that the Armenian community  in this country is ready to invest in Armenia. In this regard, the  granting of Armenian citizenship can motivate them in the sense that  the RA passport will ensure free movement within the framework of the  EAEU.

According to Gagik Makaryan, recently the authorities have developed  a trend to develop various Concepts. "They very often look like the  adventures of the heroes of Jules Verne, who try to solve problems in  extraordinary situations," Makaryan said. The wishes, figures and  indicators contained in these documents are tempting. "We need  concrete actions, not concepts," the expert concluded.

On February 7, RA Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan stated that the  Armenian government fulfilled its promise on the volume of  investments of $ 856 million announced a year ago. According to him,  out of the total amount of investments $ 580 million fall on the  private sector. In addition, an additional 190 billion drams were  invested in the implementation of programs in the regions of the  republic. At the same time, investments are made by companies not  only from Russia, but also from many other states. Investments were  mainly directed to the construction of greenhouse and refrigeration  facilities, to the processing industry. Karen Karapetyan stressed  that in the near future the members of the Cabinet will present the  results of the work done in 2017 with the indication of concrete  facts and figures.