RUBEN VARDANYAN: ARMENIA HAS ALL CHANCES TO FIND ITS NICHE AND COPE WITH CHALLENGES

In an exclusive interview with ARKA news agency the well-known
Russia-based businessman and philanthropist of Armenian origin,
Ruben Vardanyan, speaks about his programs in his homeland and
Nagorno-Karabakh, and also about the problems facing the economies
of Russia and Armenia.

ARKA – This autumn about one hundred children from 50 countries
will be enrolled at UWC Dilijan College, one of your most successful
projects. What new projects do you plan to carry out in Armenia?

Vardanyan – We have quite a large program for Armenia and now we are
just at the beginning of the road. We need to accomplish the Tatev
program – I mean the entire Tatev cluster and everything related to and
around it; we have a big project for Dilijan which is not associated
only with the international school, but also with its development. We
are planning a project for Nagorno-Karabakh and are very actively
involved in several other projects, one way or another connected with
Armenia. They all are designed to make Armenia more attractive and
more interesting for tourists and most importantly, for people living
in Armenia itself so that they feel that there are interesting and
positive developments making life in their country brighter, better,
giving more opportunities for self-fulfillment in their homeland.

ARKA-Many people in Armenia are closely watching the situation in the
Russian economy wondering whether it will be able to recover from the
blows it received as a result of mounting tension between Russia and
the West?

Vardanyan – Russia did not suffer political blows, but there are
serious challenges in terms of economic development and changes in
the country. The challenges are many, but I hope that the Customs
Union and the Eurasian Economic Union will enable it to rebuild its
economy and shift from production of raw materials to development of
information and services to become more diversified. These challenges
are serious, and I hope that a right decision will be made.

ARKA – How will it affect Armenia? Will the Armenian economy be able
to cope with these impacts?

Vardanyan – We should not constantly talk about blows without noticing
the opportunities. But crises are possible. Secondly, I have to
say that Armenia has its own challenges, problems, capabilities,
which must be used properly to react to what is happening in the
world. Not only what is happening in Russia affects Armenia, but also
what is happening in Turkey, Iran, Europe, and America. Therefore,
Armenia, as a small country, needs to be more adaptive than larger
countries. I think Armenia has all the chances to find its own niche,
its own projects, which will allow it to remain stable.

ARKA – In recent years, Armenia has been improving its position in
various economic rankings, but the inflow of foreign investment into
the country has been falling. Why and what Armenia needs to do to
resolve this problem?

Vardanyan – I’m not an expert in the Armenian economy. I must say
frankly that I do not follow in depth what is happening in the
Armenian economy, and I do not know about those numbers, you’re
talking about. But overall, everything is very simple – any country
is as attractive as it can provide clear, transparent and not changing
rules of game. In this sense, any country where these rules are clear,
understandable and the same for all is attractive for investors even
if it is not very large. -0

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress