ArmInfo. Armenia intends to increase the share of small and medium- sized businesses (SMEs) in the republic's GDP by 2026 from 27% to 55%, according to the program of the RA government for 2021-2026, approved on August 18 at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers. Realizing that SMEs are a key element of sustainable economic and employment growth, the RA government attaches importance to the development of SMEs and undertakes to take consistent steps to remove obstacles along the way. In particular, for innovative entrepreneurs, the toolkit for supporting SMEs will be expanded, and the availability of both financial resources and skills, knowledge and connections will be increased. The economic activity of the population in the regions will be increased, alternative sources of income will be created, and inclusiveness of growth will be ensured.
It should be noted that according to the document, within the next 5 years, the Armenian government undertakes to ensure a minimum annual economic growth of 7%, and in the presence of favorable external economic conditions - at the level of 9%. According to the results of the planned measures, the current unemployment rate of 17-18% should be below 10%, the poverty level should be halved, extreme poverty should be completely eliminated, and pensions (now the basic pension is 30 thousand drams) should be increased to meet the needs of the minimum consumer basket (55 thousand drams). The size of the minimum wage will also be increased from the current 68 thousand drams to 85 thousand drams. In addition, the investment / GDP ratio will be increased to at least 25%, and the foreign direct investment to GDP ratio will be at 6%. The growth of the total factor productivity will be at least 5%.
