YEREVAN. – Armenia needs stronger contract enforcement field for business, US Ambassador to Armenia, Mr John Heffern told on Wednesday in Yerevan.

Speaking at a roundtable by the Armenian Ombudsman office on the International Human Rights Day, Heffern told that Armenia has nevertheless advanced considerably with its ranking in the World Bank Doing Business yearly index.

Still, Armenia lags behind in practices of respecting business contracts, where the country stands 119th out of 189, he added. The Embassy will continue to work with Armenian state agencies to promote the rule of law, US Ambassador added.

“Its hard to get beyond a single bad news, even if others are good. That’s why strong sides of the country’s business environment also need a highlight,” he said.

To that end, he has encouraged Diaspora Armenians a lot to seek business opportunities in Armenia, or for those linking Armenia and the US. The response is almost always the same: business needs predictable partners and a fair system of resolving disputes.

This goes to show that human rights and rule of law are important not only as standalone values, but also because they bring along prosperity. Countries where the rule of law exists do better, grow faster and draw more foreign investment, Ambassador concluded.