Category: 2017

Armenia conducts great works to reveal and prevent crimes, President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview to ARMENIA TV, commenting on the work of law enforcement agencies.

“Firstly I want to state that the work of each agency, even it is sufficient enough, needs improvement. This is not only my approach, this is a normal logical approach, one should not remain on the same path, it’s always necessary to have a progress”, the President said, adding that it’s necessary to be cautious on different indexes. “Unfortunately, crimes, murders, of course, are taking place in any country, including Europe, the United States. Unfortunately, I must say that the same is taking place in Armenia. The problem is how the system manages to reveal these crimes and most importantly to prevent them. In this sense I think a great work is being done in our country, and if we just look at the numbers, for instance, the murders in Armenia decrease every year. For example, this year the intentional murders, let me not mention numbers to avoid speculations as the year has not ended yet, have decreased by nearly 15-20%, and all scandalous murders, almost all, have been revealed and the murderers have been arrested. God willing, we will have a situation one day that there will be no murders in our country, but no country is insured from crimes”, the President said.

Talking about Yerevan’s security, the President said the most accurate approach is our own feeling and the opinion of our guests. “It would be better to go out in the evening, thanks God, although it is mid-December, but there is no shortage of tourists in Yerevan, ask how he/she feels in Yerevan and whether he/she will be able to reach, for instance, from restaurant to hotel alone at night of 1, 2 o’clock. In this sense, I think, our situation is satisfactory, although we have no right to be satisfied with these achievements, we should really be a very safe country inside and within our borders”, Serzh Sargsyan said.

Armenia will launch the dialogue with the European Union over visa liberalization in the first half of 2018, President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview to ARMENIA TV.

“I think in the first half of the next year or before that, although it is a thankless work to make a statement on any timetable, but I think we will launch the dialogue during that period. Here as well there are a lot of issues, and it is a long process. If we work hard, I think, we will reach the final goal in 2-3 years”, the President said.

President Serzh Sargsyan said the new agreement is a separate process, and the visa liberalization is another. According to him, they, of course, most likely are linked with each other, but signing a new agreement doesn’t mean that the visa liberalization process also has launched. “Yes, there was an opinion during the summit that it’s necessary to launch the dialogue on this matter”, the President added.

He also talked about the GSP+ regime with the EU, as well as the opportunities of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed with the Union and the observation that few use the GSP+ regime.

“Firstly, I wouldn’t say that few are using the regime. 40% of our exports is being carried out by this system. Yes, the product types are a lot, if I am not mistaken, we have privileged terms in the EU for 6200 types of products, this means that they undergo customs clearance at 0 or a very low rate. Of course, the agreement creates more favorable conditions, but the important is the production of goods. We should be able to produce many and high-quality competitive goods, and in this case there will be no obstacle for exporters. Today also there is no obstacle, who exports competitive, quality products, he sells that products in the EU market and the EAEU market, as well as in other markets. Therefore, this system is very useful for us, it is this system that enables us to have such volume, 1/3 of trade turnover in the EU demand market”, the President stated.

On November 24 Armenia and the European Union signed the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Brussels.

Trade turnover volumes between Armenia and Iran grew in the 10 months of the current year.

The national statistical service of Armenia reported that the turnover amounted 211,4 million dollars – against 2016’s 199,4 million dollars.

In terms of exports and imports, 66,9 million dollars worth products have been exported to Iran from Armenia in the reporting period, which is a 2,3% growth compared to last year.

Products made in third countries worth 138,9 million dollars were imported from Iran to Armenia, while imports of Iranian made products comprised 144,4 million dollars. Both indicators have grown by 12,2% and 7,8% respectively.

The first quarter data of 2017 shows that over 90% of the amount volume in exports is energy. In addition, meat, paper, steal, mechanic equipment, medical equipment, coffee and mineral water is exported to Iran from Armenia.

Natural gas, bitumen, oil, petroleum products, household products, fertilizers, glass, fruits and vegetables are imported from Iran.

The number of Iranian tourists also grew by 27%. 15,7% of overall tourists who visit Armenia were Iranians.

In terms of bilateral economic relations, the talks, which were initiated by Armenia with the EEU and the creation of a FEZ with Iran are also important.

The Meghri FEZ will be opened on December 15.

Cooperation is expected with the Iranian Aras FEZ.

The Armenian government makes great efforts to ensure an economic growth, President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview to ARMENIA TV, commenting on the government’s steps aimed at easing social tension in the country.

“The only formula to live well is to work and the only way to prosperity is the economic growth, and I think in this sense the government makes great efforts. We should do everything to have a tangible economic growth”, the President said.

President Sargsyan said much more goods should be produced and much more jobs must be created in Armenia. He highlighted the issue of highly-paid jobs as one of the most important issues. “If we say that salaries will not increase in 2018, it isn’t so, the rates will not rise, but people will receive more wages. It will be so as I said: increase of salaries was not envisaged for 2017, but in October of this year the average salary in the Republic is more than 4.8% compared to October of 2016. The same will be in 2018”, he said.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that the government led by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan had a very concrete task which was the following – to achieve effective governance. “Yes, we didn’t put concrete tasks for economic growth since it was linked with certain issues happening in our integration processes and so on. But I think that Karen Karapetyan and the government led by him have set a task before them, and that task is to ensure 5-6% economic growth. If a person sets a task before him, if the government sets a task before it and that task doesn’t go into deep contradictions with your perceptions, whether it is obligatory to announce it? I think that it is not a bad figure. 5% economic growth will enable us to use the results of that growth, it will be visible and tangible”, the President said.

Turkish journalist Faoud Abbasov has attacked Armenian experts during a TV program called Process on the Russian defense ministry’s Zvezda channel.

The program was dedicated to the Isreali-Palestine conflict.

Abbasov didn’t like the statements of the Armenian experts regarding Turkey’s role in the conflict, and said: “I would like to calm down the Turkophobic experts of Armenian and Syrian origin, who are reducing Turkey’s role”.

When Sargis Tsaturyan, editor in chief of Realist news agency, responded by saying why should someone like Turkey, when it is carrying out an aggressive policy, Abbasov stood up and charged into Tsaturyan and political analyst Gevorg Mirzoyan to attack them physically.

Only due to the interference of the audience and TV representatives was the brawl prevented.

The prices of some products have increased in Armenia in connection with the increase in prices of these products in international markets, but the overall inflation is manageable, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview to ARMENIA TV.

“Yes, the prices of some products have increased in connection with the increase in prices of these products in international markets, but the overall inflation is manageable. If we take into account the fact that although everyone says salaries are not increased and etc, the rate of wage increase is a bit higher than the inflation as of today. I think this is a very important factor, the same was in 2016”, the President said.

Serzh Sargsyan also commented on the proposal of some opposition forces to suspend Armenia’s members to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). He stated that he doesn’t see rationality here. Here he just sees a desire to serve some interests or a certain belief which comes from lacking complete information on the material.

“But if they are really convinced, they can present serious facts, I didn’t hear any serious fact”, he said.

Commenting on the reporter’s observation that prices of 900 goods may increase starting from January 1, 2018, the President said: “They cannot have a significant impact in terms of drastic inflations and undermining the economy. I do not suppose this, when we became a full member of the structure in 2015, the rates for several thousand product types changed, and so what? Did our country face a drastic inflation, of course, no, therefore, now as well the impact is not huge and this impact is also compensated via other products, at more affordable prices, and I think that we have a balanced approach here and this approach leads to the fact that for instance in 2016 there was a deflation in our country. This is a fact which cannot be denied and today as well we do not have a tangible inflation”.