Tuesday, November 7 2017 16:31

ArmInfo. Today, President  Serzh Sargsyan received the Vice President of the Asian Development  Bank (ADB) Wenkai Zhang. Welcoming the guest in Armenia, the  President of Armenia highly appreciated the mission and role of ADB  in the economic development of Armenia, stressing that in cooperation  with the bank that has become a stable partner for the country over  the past twelve years, numerous programs have been implemented in  Armenia that included both the public and private sectors. Serzh  Sargsyan expressed hope that cooperation will continue.

The Vice-President of the ADB, at the beginning of the meeting  recalled the meeting with warmth, with President Serzh Sargsyan held  in New York within the framework of the investment forum and noted  with satisfaction that noticeable progress is seen in Armenia's  cooperation with the bank. Wenkai Zhang noted that about three dozens  of programs implemented in a number of important sectors for  Armenia's economy, aimed at the development of Armenia's  infrastructures, reforms, improving the quality of public  administration, interaction between the state and the private sector,  had their impact on economic development.

The Vice President of the ADB informed that the bank is now working  towards the development of a "Strategy for Cooperation with Armenia  for 2019-2023", which will include medium-term and long-term  development programs. In this context, Wenkai Zhang inquired from the  President of the Republic on the priorities of the Armenian economy,  which can be laid in the basis of the new strategy and become  programs of cooperation for the coming years. The ADB Vice President  stressed that the bank is preparing to help Armenia not only in the  implementation of national programs, but also in works aimed at  stimulating regional cooperation.

The president asked during the development of a new strategy to pay  attention especially to infrastructure development programs, as he is  convinced that such programs will significantly contribute to  increasing the competitiveness of the economy. According to the  President, without a developed infrastructure it is impossible to  have a competitive economy.

Sargsyan considered the following priority for Armenia a persistent  continuation of reforms in such important spheres as, social,  financial, business climate improvement, urban transport reforms,  digitalization of the economy and so on. Wenkai Zhang assured that  the bank will continue to support programs that are of key importance  from the point of view of development of the Armenian economy,  including the digitization of the economy.