Dear friends, I am making a public speech considering the current, to put it mildly, difficult situation of the people of Artsakh, the uncertainty regarding the future and the lack of concrete steps taken by the RA government to solve these problems. Aram Verdyan, an economist from Artsakh and former Deputy Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Migration of Artsakh, wrote on his Facebook page.

"I have come to this conclusion after about 16 months of sending numerous applications to the heads of state bodies, having meetings with them, having verbal and written proposals addressed to them ignored or artificially delayed. I would like to note that 16 months have passed since the forced displacement of the people of Artsakh from their thousand-year-old homeland, ethnic cleansing, and during these months, we, the people of Artsakh, have been busy endlessly standing in lines at the passport offices of the Republic of Armenia, being sent from one state body to another, with statements about whether or not to give the “50 thousand” drams, with “endless” discussions about the “State Support for Housing Provision for families forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh” program (turning 3 million drams into 4 million, turning 4 million into 5 million drams), and finally, with the thesis spread by certain circles that the people of Artsakh only want to live in Yerevan. Also, with “seemingly endless” training courses by non-state structures such as the UN, the Red Cross, or other NGOs or foundations.
Taking into account my professional (economic) skills and experience, contacts with skilled specialists from Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia, I can state and mention the most important problems of the people of Artsakh:
1. The problem of stable income, it will be in the form of a salary, or by engaging in small and medium business, agribusiness, farming, or serving in the security forces. It can be either in Shirak or Syunik or Lori or Yerevan. With the right state policy and desire, the problem is solvable.
2. Housing provision, the geographical location of which depends on the policy of solving the above-mentioned problem. Having a stable income will allow you to take advantage of the housing provision program, because the program is implemented by commercial banks, and legal relations with banks without income are doomed to failure. Taking into account that half of the people of Artsakh lived in private houses and had additional income (by running a small household), it is definitely impossible to achieve the housing provision program without improving the component of the same program - the construction of an individual residential house. Also, the promotion of additional construction will provide an opportunity to regulate the prices in the housing market and prevent them from artificially increasing due to the demand of this project, as well as promote and develop the economy of Armenia.
Today, the construction of 1 private house in Syunik marz within the framework of the state tender costs about 32.5 million AMD on the RA state budget. Taking into account that the average coefficient of one family in Artsakh is about 3.5, it is impossible to build an individual residential house with the amounts specified in the program (3, 4 or 5 million AMD). I consider it unnecessary, but I will additionally note that until the family is provided with an apartment, all members of that family should receive 40+10 thousand AMD state support to cover living and other expenses. I would like to add that these given sums, defined as "billions" by some officials, do not go into the pockets of forcibly displaced people of Artsakh, but, paying rent and other expenses, go into the pockets of local citizens living in RA, which gives a multiplier effect, revitalizing the RA economy and generating economic growth and additional taxes.
In the above points, I mentioned 2 important issues. I publicly list my vision and proposals for solving the problem of point 1, having a stable income:
1. Unhindered admission of persons who served in the security forces in Artsakh to service in the RA security (force) structures, while simultaneously ensuring the housing component. "Unhindered" means, for example, the issue of so-called "citizenship" should not be resolved by the RA Armed (Security) forces officer, who was artificially made a "non-citizen", but by that force body. That is, a former Artsakh serviceman, visiting a law enforcement agency in the RA, should resolve both the issue of citizenship, the military commissariat, and other so-called inquiries with one application and be accepted into the service on the principle of “one window.” That is, interdepartmental commissions should be created in those agencies, which will resolve the issues that have arisen between them on the spot, not as they do now. A soldier participating in wars is sent from one body to another until the person becomes disillusioned and refuses to re-enlist.
2. Have a stable income by engaging in small and medium businesses (SMEs), agribusiness, and farming:
2.1 At the end of 2023, the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia developed a draft Government Decision on “Approving measures to support start-ups and small entrepreneurs” (link: https://www.e-draft.am/projects/7027), and it was published in March 2024. It concerned “reimbursement of participation fees for entrepreneurial development courses for SME entities in the Republic of Armenia, provision of loans on preferential terms, and provision of state guarantees through an umbrella mechanism, contributing to the expansion and increase in competitiveness of SME entities with growth potential, including forcibly displaced persons from Artsakh.” It was covered by the Public Television and the Ministry of Economy in May 2024 (links: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2188226671512454...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnxkQtDoX3k). But this project remained as a project and did not become a Government decision, although funds were allocated in the state budget and coverage was given about the early launch of the project. This project would fully solve the problems of those people forcibly displaced from Artsakh who have decided to engage in SME in the Republic of Armenia.
Therefore, I suggest to the Government to take effective steps to adopt the above-mentioned project within the framework of the given problem.
2.2 Various commercial banks of the Republic of Armenia received financial resources from European, American and other institutions in 2024 to lend to SMEs and target groups without collateral in the Republic of Armenia (according to information received from open sources, the target groups in these programs are women, youth, rural residents, immigrants). Forcibly displaced Artsakh residents who have decided to engage in SMEs are considered full beneficiaries of these programs. Therefore, I propose the Government negotiate with the commercial banks of the Republic of Armenia within the framework of these programs and subsidize them from the state budget of the Republic of Armenia by at least 14 percentage points, emphasizing production sectors and businesses based in communities.
2.3 Agriculture in Artsakh was quite developed. Some branches were even several times more technologically advanced than in the Republic of Armenia. A large part of the population was engaged in agricultural activities. Taking into account the experience of the people of Artsakh in agriculture, it is necessary to use their potential in the Republic of Armenia. But the question arises: where can the people of Artsakh engage in agriculture, since the land fund of the arable lands of the Republic of Armenia is occupied and privatized. There are claims by experts that 200-220 thousand ha of arable land is privatized, but is in an uncultivated state. In addition, the owners are dead and even inheritance has not been accepted. This arable land fund is fragmented and problematic and it will take years to resolve these issues. Here the question arises: where to find land? To solve this problem, the increase of the arable land fund in RA can help us, at the expense of stony pastures and other agricultural lands, which are mainly state property and amount to thousands of hectares. A similar program for land improvement existed in Soviet Armenia and is now available in developed countries. Even for this program, long-term financial resources can be attracted from the World Bank or other international financial institutions. Therefore, I propose to the Government to carry out land improvement measures on community-owned lands within the framework of this problem and provide them to forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, on which, under the preconditions set by the state, the people of Artsakh will engage in intensive agriculture.
In all economic programs implemented by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, the first step is the determination of creditworthiness, which is carried out by commercial banks of the Republic of Armenia. The people forcibly displaced from Artsakh have a creditworthiness problem. In addition, the refugee status itself negatively affects the provision of business loans. It means that these programs are not available for people forcibly displaced from Artsakh.
I would like to add that I am raising these suggestions publicly so that my compatriots who were forcibly displaced from Artsakh, and why not also my compatriots living in the Republic of Armenia (my suggestions can also be used and extended to other social groups living in the Republic of Armenia), can benefit from them and live with dignity after all this, at least in the Republic of Armenia, which they always consider their homeland, and not on foreign shores. Please do not perceive my suggestions as a personal request and do not offer individual approaches and solutions through various channels. With our knowledge, experience and human qualities, I and my friends with difficulty, but are able and will be able to solve our individual problems.
I would like to raise the above-mentioned proposals publicly, also asking the media, non-governmental organizations, human rights bodies, and other interested parties to cover the above-mentioned issues concerning thousands of refugees, our proposals, and raise the issue in various bodies. I would like to note that our professional group is ready to discuss the above-mentioned points, present the existing problems in more detail and the ways of their solution," he wrote.