Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received a delegation led by First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Gleb Nikitin. The Prime Minister noted the importance of further development of the Armenian-Russian interaction in the sphere of industry and stressed that he sees great prospects for this.
“Despite the fact that Russian capital is greatly involved and represented in Armenia, I am convinced that the Armenian market is still underestimated by Russian companies, especially in terms of entering the markets of third countries: Iran, the European Union. This can be largely promoted by the free economic zone in Meghri, the GSP+ system operating with the EU and other factors,” the Prime Minister noted.
Gleb Nikitin touched upon the results of their talks with Armenian partners, including the private sector representatives and assessed them as productive and constructive. According to the First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Russian side sees great prospects in implementing investment programs in Armenia and is keen to use the opportunities offered by the GSP+ system and the free economic zone bordering Iran.
“We are interested in the opportunities available in Armenia, and we can see broad prospects here. We boast huge cooperation potential in the fields of radio electronics, machine-building, agriculture and in other industries. I am confident that our bilateral cooperation in the field of industry can reach a new level,” Gleb Nikitin said, noting the importance of specific programs in the field of exports.
In this regard, Prime Minister Karapetyan expressed conviction that Armenia can meet the Russian side’s interests considering the advantages and opportunities available in our country. According to the Head of Government, Armenia can become a good platform for Russian capital to enter major international markets. Karen Karapetyan stressed the need to develop cooperation between the Armenian-Russian investment funds and noted that the Government of Armenia has developed a number of exciting investment programs that can be implemented through joint efforts.
The Premier stressed that he sees great opportunities for cooperation in the fields of transport, aviation, pharmaceuticals, tourism, hotel business, and information technologies. In this regard, he highlighted the recent achievements of Armenian IT companies. “Many Armenian IT companies have subsidiaries operating in Silicon Valley, and not the contrary,’ the Prime Minister pointed out.
The importance of the Armenian-Russian industrial forum scheduled for this October in Yerevan was emphasized on either side, in the frame of which a number of bilateral agreements are due to be signed.