ArmInfo.The Minister of Economy of Armenia assures that there is an investment interest in the Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia. "Perhaps next week the government will announce a large investment project in the Meghri free economic zone," Kerobyan said at a November 18 briefing after a cabinet meeting.
Thus, according to the Minister, a number of Iranian companies are interested in the implementation of a large investment project in the Meghri free economic zone. "Immediately after the approval (by the government - ed. note), the implementation of the program will begin," he assured.
In addition, in his words, there is an investment interest in the Armenian tourism industry in Syunik. As an example, the head of the Ministry of Finance voiced, in his estimation, a "fairly good" project, which is being implemented jointly with the Izmirlian Foundation in Meghri. At the same time, the Minister assured that there are many Armenian investors who have invested and continue to do so.
The head of the Ministry of Economy also recalled the acquisition of a 60% stake in the Zangezur Copper- Molybdenum Combine by the largest Russian private corporation AEON Corporation. "This also testifies to the large investment interest in this region," Kerobyan said.
Earlier it was reported that the construction of a free economic zone on the border with Iran is one of the priority investment programs of the RA 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. It is assumed that 100-120 companies will operate there, the revenue of which in 10 years will amount to $ 52 million. The manufactured products are planned to be exported to Iran, the countries of the EAEU, the Middle East, Turkmenistan and others. The total cost of construction of the FEZ in Meghri was estimated at $ 32 million, of which $ 28 million are capital expenditures. It is planned to increase the total investments of all companies to $ 350-400 million over 10 years. The functioning of the FEZ has already been legally enshrined in the Customs Code of the EAEU. In total, seven such zones will operate in the EAEU under the duty-free system.
Recently, according to IRNA, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) to Armenia, Abbas Zohouri , at a meeting with members of the Board of Directors of the Tehran Stock Exchange in Yerevan, assured that in the near future, the volume of trade between Armenia and Iran from $ 400 million is currently possible increase to $ 1 billion per year. At the same time, the Ambassador stated about the interested sectors of Iranian and Armenian investors. According to him, large Armenian investors can invest in the Tehran Stock Exchange, taking advantage of the opportunities in the free economic zones "Aras" and "Meghri" on the border of Iran with Armenia. According to the source, there are currently 6,100 foreign economic activists in the Tehran Stock Exchange. It should be noted that according to the RA Statistical Committee, the foreign trade turnover between the RA and the IRI for 9 months of this year increased by 16.7%, providing a volume of $ 341.3 million. - $ 295.1 million, with an increase of 29.6% over the year.
