Armenia welcomes Russian capital in forming favorable investment environment – Karen Karapetyan

Armenia’s Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan is on a two-day official visit to Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

The Armenian and Russian premiers had a private meeting, which was followed by an enlarged meeting of the Armenian and Russian delegations in the format of working breakfast.

In his welcoming speech, Mr Medvedev said, in particular:

“This is your first official visit to our country. We have special, allied, relations with Armenia. Of course, we always have something to discuss, but of importance is the fact a number of documents have been prepared on the occasion of your visit that are supposed to facilitate our cooperation in individual areas. I hope it will facilitate development of economic ties and interpersonal contacts.

“We are going to discuss our current economic agenda. Despite the international situation, changing prices for energy carriers, and a number of other economic factors, we have stable trade turnover. And if we speak of our imports from Armenia, last year saw a 70% increase. I think it is the result of Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and consolidation of our economic contacts.

“We have numerous other issues – related to investments and humanitarian ones – to discuss. I wish you a successful visit to Russia.”

In his speech, Armenia’s Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan thanked his Russian counterpart for the invitation and congratulated him on his appointment as Chairman of the United Russia party.

“Today’s meeting is a good platform for us to synchronize our watches and discuss topical issues of Armenian-Russian cooperation. I would like to assure you our delegation has come with positive and businesslike intentions. We have had a traditionally heavy agenda. In recent conditions of a challenging international situation our governments have succeeded in progressing in this field. You know Russia capital has a great share in Armenia’s economy. However, we should not feel content and can discuss the ways of intensifying our cooperation and giving new impetus to it.

“A number of reforms are underway in Armenia to form a favorable investment environment and we’ll welcome Russian capital. In this context, we have brought new proposals that will enable us to diversify and expand areas of our cooperation. I am sure we are going to have a constructive dialogue. Thank you for your invitation.”

The Armenian and Russian delegations are expected to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest and sign a number of documents.