"In Our Way" movement: What kind of winemaking center are we talking  about if Kakheti exports $200 million worth of wine, while Vayots  Dzor only exports $2 million?

ArmInfo. The Georgian  region of Kakheti annually exports $200 million worth of wine, while the Armenian region of Vayots Dzor only exports $2-2.5 million. Narek  Karapetyan, coordinator of the "In Our Way" movement, stated this in  a video address, when commenting on RA Minister of Economy Gevorg  Papoyan's assertions that Armenia's Vayots Dzor region has become a  major winemaking region.

According to the movement coordinator, officials' responses are often  out of touch with reality. Vayots Dzor is indeed home to the world's  oldest winemaking monuments, and the region boasts centuries-old  traditions. However, it alone does not make the region an  economically mature winemaking center. All of Armenia exports  approximately 15 times less wine than the Kakheti region alone.  According to Karapetyan, when people talk about a winemaking center,  they mean tens of millions of dollars in exports and production, as  well as thousands of tourists who come specifically for wine tourism.  Karapetyan also questioned the Minister of Economy's professional  competence, noting that he had worked in the trade sector as a  marketing specialist and, in his opinion, lacks the experience to  assess the true scale of the wine industry.

Karapetyan also responded to Minister of Labor and Social Affairs  Arsen Torosyan's assertion that schools are not being closed, but  merely "merged." According to the movement's coordinator,  approximately 45 schools are actually being closed in the Syunik  region. He noted that a merger can be justified when two small  schools within a single community are combined. However, if  educational institutions in five different communities are closed and  children have to travel up to 10 km along mountain roads in the  winter, it's a case of effectively shutting down schools, not merging  them. Karapetyan emphasized that such a policy also leads to a  reduction in teacher salaries in villages, where teachers are often  the only remaining government employees. He added that this means a  halt to government salaries, which seriously impacts the local  economy.

In response to Syunik Governor Robert Ghukasyan's statement about  people outside Syunik  speaking about the region's problems,  Karapetyan pointed out that the governor, before making such  conclusions, had not thoroughly studied his background. He emphasized  that  his maternal roots are in Goris, and his family comes from the  village of Tegh. According to Karapetyan, it was from the village of  Tegh that hundreds of hectares of land were transferred to Azerbaijan  as a result of negotiations between the current government and the  current administration, without any significant diplomatic  resistance. Karapetyan added that as a result, agriculture in Tegh  suffered serious damage, and the livestock population was reduced by  approximately half-and all of this, he said, occurred during the  current governor's tenure. As a practical proposal, he appealed to  the governor to resolve the water supply issue in the village of  Tasik in Sisian, where residents are forced to fetch water by hand  for half the year. Karapetyan proposed an agreement: if the regional  authorities fail to resolve the issue, they are prepared to do it  themselves- quickly and effectively, on the sole condition that the  authorities do not impede the process.