“The US Deputy Secretary of Commerce has invited me to Washington in an official letter,” Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan told reporters at the National Assembly of Armenia Monday.

“Among the issues to be discussed at the US Department of Commerce are two components: the first is the TRIPP investment program, and the second concerns potential investment projects of major American companies in general, including commercial and service-providing companies, and their opportunities in Armenia,” Papoyan added.

“Currently, we are conducting numerous studies, and we are also working in parallel. And if you noticed, for example, a few days ago I met with the regional director of the Starbucks network. That is, even at the local level, in addition to the governmental level, we will discuss potential investment projects with major brands. In this regard, we are also studying the locations, scale of possible American investments, and we inform our partners, for example, that this brand could enter here, and these are the market opportunities in this sector.

We ourselves assess the market capacity. Our partners also come, and both sides are involved in the process. We do not announce anything until an agreement with the brand is reached. We speak only when the brand agrees, or when we reach a phase where they are most likely coming, and we begin discussing it.

There are also other cases where in-depth market research is being conducted to understand the capacity of our market, the potential, the profitability of their brands,” the economy minister emphasized.

He noted that Armenian-American cooperation is not only about TRIPP; it is much broader.

“It was no coincidence that a $135 million loan agreement was signed a few days ago between Ardshinbank [of Armenia] and ContourGlobal [company]. Essentially, our local bank is now able to provide a $135 million loan to a US multinational corporation. Of course, the process had begun somewhat earlier, but it had given confidence to all parties, especially after August 8.

I believe that in the future we will sense a greater presence and ‘breath’ of the American economy, American brands, and American investments in Armenia,” the economy minister concluded.