Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia on a working visit on July 26. PM Pashinyan met with dozens of Armenian businessmen from north-west region of Russia.

“I want to invite all businessmen to Armenia to conduct an economic activity, for which all previously existing obstacles are eliminated and do not exist anymore. Another emphasis is also worth mentioning: among these obstacles, perhaps the most important has been and somehow still remains the corruption, although generally speaking it is said that there is no corruption in Armenia anymore, there are just some remnants. I assure you that today there is an active fight against corruption which will continue”, PM Pashinyan said, adding that the fight against corruption deals with some companies, and it’s important for the government that this fight is not perceived and interpreted as a campaign against the business. “For us it’s important to clearly draw that line that our fight cannot be against the business. We guarantee the security of investments”, the PM said, adding that the government has only one condition for investments: it is expected that the business activity should be legal.

According to the Armenian PM, the state is interested in creation of new jobs and increase of state revenues. “A week later when I was elected Prime Minister, I officially announced at the meetings with the businessmen that from now on any business is free of any corruption duty. I also rule out that there will be an attempt of interference somehow towards any company at a local level”, Nikol Pashinyan said.