ArmInfo. Armenian freight carriers are holding a protest action near the government building, calling for a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
They claim they have been left on their own, as their issues and interests are not being prioritized by regulatory bodies in foreign states and Armenia. According to them, Armenian trucks are often the last to be loaded/unloaded, even when carrying perishable products. They are facing disrespect at all checkpoints, including those in their own country.
The protesters pointed out that Armenian logistics companies tend to prefer working with foreign freight forwarders over local ones due to the tariffs proposed by the latter. They highlighted the fact that foreign carriers do not pay the same additional taxes in Armenia as they do, creating unequal conditions. Freight carriers are not against the operations of the same Georgian freight forwarders, but only demand equal conditions and control over Armenian logisticians. Given the circumstances, cargo carriers are requesting a resolution - either implementing preferential tax rates for them, or deducting expenses incurred in a third country from their taxes paid.
Additionally, the protesters raised a very sensitive issue concerning national security. Specifically, freight carriers said that the drivers of Georgian vehicles who unload goods at military units in Armenia are often Turks.
In the meantime, several meetings were held with representatives of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, but they didn't yield any results. Written requests were also disregarded. Therefore, today the freight carriers gathered at the government building to demand a meeting with the Prime Minister. They set a deadline for the head of government to accept them until the end of the week, stating that if he refused, they would take extreme measures by blocking the roads to stop foreign freight carriers from entering the country.
