Spokesperson of the Yerevan Municipality Hakob Karapetyan believes that Gagik Tsarukyan’s statement regarding the Abu Dhabi heir not having permission to build a free hospital and two free hotels in Yerevan was simply a result of not having enough information.
“I believe that Mr. Tsarukyan did not receive enough information, particularly in this case. There have been many cases that allowed for this impression to come about. The meeting took place months ago. According to Mr. Tsarukyan’s suggestion, the municipality welcomed those individuals, the city’s priorities for development, and the conditions for doing business in the city. Those conditions are based on the laws of Armenia and the mayor expressed willingness to support potential investors within his authority. In any case, the municipality did not receive any documentation for projects. We do not believe that it is important to speak about where potential investors came from, what titles they hold, or how many billions of dollars they have, because none of those factors will influence the mayor’s decision. Regardless of whether or not an individual has the title of sheikh, sultan, Herzog, or anything else, the municipality regards all potential investors the same. They all receive the same respect and the municipality has equal willingness to work with all of them. Emotional statements are also not appropriate because the municipality does not worry about disappointment or amazement; its goal is simply to allow the city to advance. If there are investors who wish to participate in this advancement, the municipality is prepared to support them,” Hakob Karapetyan told Aravot Daily.
When asked if the mayor is aware of why the project did not develop after the meeting, the spokesperson said that the mayor does not know.
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Aravot Daily also asked about the conditions that were discussed with the heir. Karapetyan said, “General intentions and visualizations are discussed during these meetings. The municipality’s conditions are the same. We will speak about conditions for investors when there is an investment package. But we did not receive any such package, so it was simply a discussion and nothing more.”
Arpine Simoyan
