YEREVAN. – The official opening of the session of the Fourth General Assembly and the Second Business Forum of the Armenian Trade Network (ATN) was held on Tuesday.

Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan delivered opening remarks at the event.

“It is pleasing that during the past four to five years, our Armenian businessmen tried to unite and create the ATN,” the minister specifically said.

Minister of Agriculture Sergo Karapetyan, in his remarks, noted that the ATN is a new platform in the economic sector. As per the minister, agriculture is a priority sector of Armenia, and there are very good prerequisites for it to become an industrial sector.

“We call on our compatriots to invest in the Motherland. There is huge potential in our country; business conditions are facilitated every year,” Karapetyan said. “In recent years, major reforms were implemented [in Armenia] to promote investments.”

ATN Executive Board President Vahram Pirjanian (Canada), for his part, noted that today they continue what they had started in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan in April 2011.

“I underscore Armenian businessmen’s investments in the small and medium-sized business sector,” Pirjanian said. “Numerous reforms are noticeable [in Armenia] in recent times; we expect that they should be continued.”