ArmInfo. Minister of Economic Development and Investments of Armenia Suren Karayan with representatives of CLAAS, the world's leading producer of agricultural machinery, the chief manager in Central Asia and the Caucasus of the company CLAAS Global Sales Thomas Shtigler and the commercial director of the company in Krasnodar, Michael Ritter, discussed the prospects of activity in RA. According to the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development, representatives of the German company expressed interest in the FEZ created on the Armenian-Iranian border.
Suren Karayan presented the company's representatives with the privileges and opportunities of economic entities that operate within the FEZ borders in Meghri. He also stated about the prospects that are being opened within the framework of cooperation between the FEZ in Meghri and "Aras" in Iran.
On August 3 the Government of Armenia approved the draft decision on the establishment of Meghri Free Economic Zone, which was launched earlier in October 2017. At the first stage, it is planned to equip the territory adjacent to the Meghri checkpoint, and also to form physical infrastructures. This will be followed by the provision of appropriate privileges and the involvement of companies in the FEZ. The total cost of building FEZ in Meghri is estimated at $ 32 million, of which $ 28 million is capital expenditure. The construction of the FEZ on the border with Iran is one of the priority investment programs of the Armenian government and provides for the creation of a free economic zone with an area of 10-15 hectares, with the possibility of further expansion to 45-50 hectares. Despite the fact that the FEZ has not yet been built, there are already numerous applications from various companies that have expressed a desire to start work in the FEZ - more than 10 companies from Russia, there are also from Iran and Europe. According to the Ministry of Economy, operation of the FEZ will create 2,500 jobs and increase exports from Armenia by 30%. The main goal of the FEZ is the development of trade and economic relations with Iran and other countries of the region, the development of the Syunik region, as well as the positioning of Armenia as a link linking Iran with the EEU countries and Georgia. It is assumed that 100-120 companies will operate there, whose revenues will reach $ 52 million over 10 years. The products are planned to be exported to Iran, the countries of the EEU, the Middle East, Turkmenistan and others. The total investment of all companies for 10 years is planned to increase to $ 350-400 million. The functioning of the FEZ has already been legislated in the Customs Code of the EEU. In total, seven such zones will operate in the system of the duty-free system.