Friday, October 5 2018 13:37

ArmInfo.Chief Advisor to the RA Prime Minister Arsen Gasparyan assures that there are no discrepancies in his statement yesterday and that of the head of the  government Nikol Pashinyan.

"Out of the economic interests of Armenia, the early holding of early  elections to the country's parliament proceeds. Many tried to present  my statement yesterday in the light that they allegedly contradict  the statement of the prime minister. Since June of this year, foreign  investors have shown great interest in Armenia. And naturally there  should be a long-term economic vector of development ", said  Gasparyan, on October 5 at a press conference in Yerevan. According  to him, the people demand early parliamentary elections, and they are  important from the point of view of the country's economic  development.

The adviser to the prime minister assured that investors from all  over the world are showing interest in areas such as water, light  industry, tourism, and the field of information technology. Gasparyan  added that the interest of investors is due to the changes that have  already occurred in the country; they see the legitimacy that  prevails in the country and the readiness of the government to  encourage investment.

To clarify whether he has specific statistics on the number of  investors and the total amount of planned investments, the prime  minister's chief adviser said that there is no data, but the interest  is very large, and in August-September he held over 100 meetings,  another 20 are already scheduled for October , a number of bilateral  meetings are scheduled with the participants of the business forum,  which will be held on the margins of the Francophone summit. He also  stated that the meetings of the Prime Minister with representatives  of the business sector in Moscow and Paris also stimulated the  interest of French and Russian business in Armenia. Gasparyan found  it difficult to name the total volumes of the proposed investments,  noting that investors have different offers, ranging from investments  of $ 30- $ 50 million, but the fact that interest in Armenia is  growing day by day is a fact.

 "But, after the elections, the situation will radically change, as  the political reality in the country will be outlined. We need to  understand that investors, before making investments, especially  large companies, carry out a serious analysis. But at meetings they  express satisfaction with the new reality in the country since  Armenia has been in political zugzwang for 20 years. Pashinyan today  pulled Armenia out of zugzwang. Therefore, as I have already said,  the early holding of early elections is proceeding from the economic  interests of Armenia, as this will allow be a complete picture in the  country. Businessmen are interested in elections, because today we  have a parliament that is not supported by the people, therefore,  elections are necessary to ensure normal interaction between the  legislative and executive powers, and which would reflect the will of  the people ", said the advisor of the Prime Minister.

He also said that he doesn't have data on how, from a negative point  of view, a delay in holding early elections may affect the country's  economic life.

It should be noted that on the eve of Arsen Gasparyan, after the  government meeting, the Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister commented  on the Prime Minister's words that holding early parliamentary  elections at a later date creates an atmosphere of uncertainty for  the investor and negative consequences for the economy, in  particular, said: He does not wait. In August-September, many  investors from different countries came to my office. Political  changes in Armenia are very positively evaluated by them, "he said.   According to Gasparyan, the extraordinary parliamentary elections, in  the first place, are the demand of the people, and they absolutely do  not affect these processes, since "the situation is stable in  Armenia."

Meanwhile, according to the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol  Pashinyan, one of the most important arguments in favor of holding  early parliamentary elections in December of this year, and not in  the spring, as suggested by the RPA, ARFD and PAP, is the factor of  attracting investments, namely the requirement of potential investors  to stabilize the political field of the country. "I attach particular  importance to holding extraordinary parliamentary elections in the  context of attracting investments to the country. Until the elections  take place, the economy, business, with bated breath, will wait for  guarantees in the form of that in the coming years, within 5 years  there will be a stable majority working hand in hand with the  government, "he said.