REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN ATTENDED THE 30TH JUBILEE SESSION OF THE CIS INTERSTATE COUNCIL ON ANTI-MONOPOLY POLICY IN YEREVAN

Wedn esday, 7 October 2009

Republic of Armenia Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan attended the 30th
jubilee session of the CIS interstate council on anti-monopoly policy
in Yerevan.

Addressing those present, the head of government said it to be
important that such a key gathering is being held in Armenia and added
in particular, "We are concerned about the existence of monopolies in
the Armenian economy which are caused by the black economy and limited
access to international markets due to logistical bottlenecks. Small
and medium-size entities cannot afford to bring in goods only through
Georgia and Iran as they are too expensive, and the field proves to
be left to major actors.

Armenia’s geopolitical situation is another impediment to economic
competition inside the country."

The Prime Minister stressed that the crisis may create serious
incentives for the conduct of anti-monopoly policies and
implementation of ambitious programs. According to him, the
government’s internationally hailed anti-crisis action seeks to
diversify the national economy, prop up small and medium-size
businesses by enabling broader access to borrowed funds.

Much has to be done yet in the field of tax and customs reforms. The
countr y’s overall competitiveness was said to have been maintained
in spite of the fall caused by the ongoing financial and economic
downturn.

The meeting was attended by public stakeholders from Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, the Russian Federation,
Tajikistan, Ukraine, as well as from other such agencies or
competitiveness-handling entities of some non-member countries.