Government must be proactive about deepening US-Armenia relations– expert

Armenia must pursue proactive policies if it indends to deepen its relations with the United States, an expert in international relations said on Tuesday, agreeing at the same time that such an agenda was the desire of all the previous governments.

Suren Sargsyan made the remark in an interview with Tert.am as he commented upon a recent statement by President of the National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan.

Meantime he admitted that that despite the willingness, "none of the governments for now succeeded in upgrading the US-Armenia relations to a level considered high enough to bring them in line with the two countries' potential."

″The US-Armenia relations have not deepened either politically or economically despite the big and influential Armenian community in the United States. Those relations have not deepened in the past 27 years, as we haven't developed ties with any of the two governing parties - the Republicans or the Democrats.″

As an important step towards being proactive, Sargsyan stressed the importance of submitting specific and clear-worded programs to the American partners. ″Expressing only a willingness is not enough as tangible steps are necessary, the analyst added. ″Armenia continues to remain the United States' 170th trade partner. That's a disgraceful record in the light of our potential. We are in a situation that sees unfortunately no progress in the US-Armenia relations. I think everything depends on Armenia's proactivity. If Armenia fosters an increase in its trade turnover to deepen the economic relations, our role will gain supremacy in [President Donald ] Trump's political priorities.″

According to the analyst, Armenia restricts itself only to statements, remaining passive when it comes to concrete actions. ″The United States, as a superpower, will not move to proposing programs to other countries to find any edges of cooperation. We nned to be active ourselves.″

Dismissing any concerns about the negative perceptions, the expert laso admited that the US assistance to Armenia has been the biggest ever to date. ″No country has assisted us to the extent as did the United States in terms of the volumes and frequency. The assistance has been humanitarian, institutional, program-based, etc., but Armenia must attach a priority also to investments and do everything possible to boost a growth in the investments from the United Sates. The Armenian Government must take steps to provoke the interest of US investors. Hence it is important to carry out ongoing work to translate statements into program-based proposals,″ he emphasized.