ROBERT KOCHARIAN: ARMENIA STRIVES TO FORM A KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 17 2006
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 17, NOYAN TAPAN. Not having rich natural resources,
Armenia strives to ensure the sustainable development of its economy by
developing the human capital and forming a knowledge-based economy. The
Armenian President Robert Kocharian stated this in his speech at the
Bertelsmann Foundation in Berlin on November 16.
According to him, there is no field of the Armenian life that has
not undergone serious reforms since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
This process was made difficult by the war imposed on the country,
blockade, energy crisis, to which Armenia responded by accelerating
the changes and increasing the efficiency of governance.
The president said that diligence and enterprise are peculiar to
the Armenian people. Among the important goals of the government
are the creation of favorable conditions for businessmen and the
protection of investments. As a result, 85% of GDP is now formed in
the private sector, including 40% – by small and medium business. "We
are especially proud of this index. The middle class in the process
of formation. This seriously affects the society’s perception of its
future," R. Kocharian said.
He underlined the necessity to improve tax and customs administration
and conduct the fight against corruption.
He also underlined the necessity to further develop financial services
in Armenia, for which good prerequisites have been created by the
efficient banking system. In this connection he expressed gratitude
to Germany for providing technical assistance to Armenia.
"While we see a serious growth in direct foreign investments in
Armenia, we know that we’ll have greater achievements in the near
future," Robert Kocharian noted. He reminded that according to a joint
research by "Wall Street Journal" and the Zharangutyun Foundation
last year, Armenia was in 17th place among the open economies in the
world. In the last 6 years, the average annual growth of GDP has made
12.2%. Last year, foreign investments made 500 million USD.
The president attached importance to the Poverty Reduction Program
developed by the government, international financial organizations
and the civil society of Armenia. Armenia’s experience in this
field is used by the World Bank to develop similar programs in other
countries. Another program that may cause new system changes is the
program on development of the country’s rural regions, in which the
government tries to involve the Armenian Diaspora as well.
R. Kocharian said that one of the important achievements is that the
share of information technologies in Armenian GDP is now 2%. "At the
same time, we realize that it would be impossible to make use of this
advantage without making serious changes in science and education.
For this reason Armenia started its active participation in the Bologna
process," he noted. In his words, a comprehensive strategy is now being
developed in order to make reforms in fundamental and applied sciences.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
