Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting at the government with the heads of large companies engaged in export and import, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Prime Minister stated: “First, I want to express my gratitude that, despite all the difficulties, you continue to work as normally as possible. Of course, during this period we have a problem of coordinating our actions and ensuring the best possible conditions for exports from our country and imports to our country. I can say that in recent days we have worked with our partners in Georgia and Russia, and yesterday we reached an agreement that both Georgia and Russia will provide, so to speak, a ‘green zone’ for EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) cargo, that is, a separate zone will be allocated on the territory of Georgia and at Verkhny Lars, in essence, for Armenia’s cargo. Of course, the agreement at the political level is one thing, but it must still be turned into reality and brought to life.
Also, since rapid decisions are currently being made in the Russian Federation to introduce various restrictions, and this could create certain panic sentiments in Armenia, particularly among consumers, it is very important to note that we have reached an agreement that, in essence, the restrictions that are being announced will not apply to the EAEU or at least to Armenia.”
The Prime Minister emphasized that the aforementioned agreement is clear and final. Nikol Pashinyan added that, considering the issue of commodity supply, the Russian partners are also interested in ensuring that their goods are supplied in a normal flow.
Pashinyan noted that we have sufficient reserves of goods. “We must also understand how we are coordinating the issues related to export and import during this period, so that the agreements we have reached with the political leadership of Russia and Georgia are implemented in a normal manner.”
Afterwards, the economic entities presented the problems and difficulties that have arisen in connection with export and import, along with proposals for their solution. Necessary clarifications were provided by the Minister of Economy Tigran Khachatryan and the Chairman of the State Revenue Committee David Ananyan.
The Prime Minister instructed the Minister of Economy to present a practice of maintaining constant contact with businessmen, to accelerate the resolution of their problems and find solutions. Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that, considering the foreign exchange and logistical issues, the government has approved several anti-crisis programs to neutralize the consequences of the “Corona” virus, through which the risks of economic entities are shared, providing preferential, including zero-interest, credit facilities.
“Our political will is to support economic entities in whatever way we can,” emphasized the Prime Minister, stressing the importance of introducing practices that allow the state and the private sector to act quickly and effectively in crisis situations.
