The High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs, Zareh Sinanyan, made a noteworthy statement. He spoke about the government’s 2019 program implementation during a session of the Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Diaspora, Youth, and Sport. My Step deputy Sofya Hovsepyan asked Sinanyan if there are people who were impressed and came to Armenia as a result of his visits.
Zareh Sinanyan responded that encouraging repatriation during his visits to other countries and diaspora communities is not a priority. “If we go to Russia and tell Armenians there to return, we need to know whether or not we have the conditions to support them with jobs. Have we established the proper processes for people repatriating to Armenia? Have we been able to uphold an environment for immigration? We are not prepared for mass immigration and if it happens, which is likely as a result of the coronavirus, let’s be honest, we’re not ready. If people return to Armenia, will we be able to support them? We instead are focusing on explaining the reality of everything in Armenia so that, if people decide to return, they can do so with open eyes.”
Zareh Sinanyan said that the program does have a goal to encourage immigration to Armenia, but the proper conditions need to be put in place for that to happen. One of those conditions is economic growth, and investments need to be made in order to promote economic growth. In order to attract investors, however, the proper conditions need to be in place so that people can work and so that they are not faced with artificial obstacles.
Sofya Hovsepyan responded that she has noticed people returning to Armenia over the past year and facing difficulties. They were able to get in touch with deputies faster than with Sinanyan, but Sinanyan needs to be their main defendant. In response, Zareh Sinanyan said, “Yes, we are the first point of contact for foreign investors and people come to us more and more after they have achieved some success. We are able to resolve issues when people run into issues with other agencies, but this is not a solution to the system. Issues are being resolved with great difficulty and they reach levels that they weren’t supposed to reach. The majority of these issues are very basic and easy to resolve, but these issues aren’t easily resolved in Armenia, which is a great obstacle for investors.”
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Sinanyan gave an example. “I cannot give an exact number as far as how many people came to Armenia after our meetings, but there were many. Now, let me talk about the negative side. You know that, after our visit to Ukraine, the owner of a large construction company came to Armenia with their Ukrainian colleagues. They presented us with a project and we ensured that they were able to come. They met with different ministries and, when presented with our tender laws and conditions, they insulted us and left, saying that we embarrassed them.”
Sofya Hovsepyan said that work is being done in that direction and she hopes that the group of Ukrainian construction workers will come to Armenia again.
Hripsime Jebejyan
