Recent developments prove that Armenia has been able with scarce resources to form a flexible economic system.

President Serzh Sargsyan on Tuesday said the abovementioned in his address at Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium.

In his address, Sargsyan also noted, in particular:

It is well-known that sustainable development is one of the most critical components of the public security, while with regard to a state, development cannot be sustainable unless it is based on a strong economy.

Recent developments prove that Armenia has been able with scarce resources to form a flexible economic system. These achievements are called to verify that the main source for our economic development is the human capital. I will give you one example: the area of information and communication technologies in recent years has become one of the locomotives of our economy. In this area, Armenia is working with prominent companies such Microsoft, IBM, Sysco, D-Link, Oracle, Synopsis, Mentor Graphics and others. There are nearly 400 enterprises functioning in Armenia in this area alone, with the number of employees close to 15 thousand. In this sphere, the women in Armenia are among the most engaged in the world. In this area we register a 20-25% increase on average each year; it makes nearly 4% of the GDP which is comparable to that of many developed countries.

It would be hard to ensure through the standard models of economic development the level of advancement that would allow us to withstand the current global challenges. Therefore, we need a new vision with innovative approaches and solutions. We have been able to form an economic system that is free of the impact of the raw natural resources. Armenia differs positively from a number of the regional countries, where the economic crises of the recent years resulted in the destabilization of the economy and devaluation of the national currency. Armenia proved that even under a blockade and limited availability of resources we were able to form a stable and predictable economy, which registered progress with regard to a number of international indices, in particular, the World Bank “Doing Business 2017,” as well as most recent reports by the Fitch Ratings. In accordance to “Doing Business 2017”, Armenia has improved its standing by five points and occupies the 38th position among 189 states while Fitch rated Armenia stable with B+.

Our new government, which was formed at the end of last year, has come up with the impressive reforms agenda. The reforms should enhance the level of recognizability of the country and investment attractiveness, especially for the European investors; it will boost the public-private partnership, ensure a comprehensive state assistance to the business projects which will encourage a rapid economic growth.