ARMENIAN ECONOMY WILL DEVELOP MORE RAPIDLY IF AUTHORITIES KEEP AWAY FROM ECONOMIC PROCESSES, VAHAGN KHACHATRIAN SAYS

Author: Editor: Eghian Robert
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 25 2007

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN. A new economic policy to encourage
domestic producers and create favorable conditions for the export
of their production should be adopted in Armenia, member of the RA
National Assembly ARF faction Artsvik Minasian stated at the September
25 debate. According to him, a common conditional trade mark should
be created for goods made in Armenia and this trade mark should be
protected by the state. Besides, the state should establish control
over the priority branches of industry.

Another participant in the debate – member of the "Aylntrank"
("Alternative") political-social initiative Vahagn Khachatrian
noted that as a apologist for liberal economy he is not in favor of
increasing the role of the state in economic processes. In his opinion,
the less the state "intervenes", the more rapidly the economy will
develop. "Today the question is: how far are the country’s authorities
prepared to keep away from the economy?" V. Khachatrian said.

In his words, import rates currently exceed threefold export rtaes,
as a result of which importers – mainly representatives of the
authorities: ministers and deputies receive superprofits. To give
an example, V. Khachatrian said that taking advantage of the sharp
decline in the number of local pigs due to African plague, the NA
deputy Samvel Alexanian has already imported frozen pork into Armenia.