The prospects of economic development of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and joint programs were discussed at the meeting headed by Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan, with the participation of members of the governments of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh.
Welcoming those present, Prime Minister Pashinyan noted, “Mr. President, dear colleagues, in the period following the 44-day war, our agenda has changed significantly. We considered the restoration of normal life in Artsakh as one of the priority issues. We have done a lot in that direction so far, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
In recent working meetings with the Artsakh President, we have been discussing this topic more often, that purely support programs should be transformed into development programs, in order to restructure the normal life of Artsakh, to restore the normal development of the Artsakh economy. I am glad that we are already noticing concrete steps in this direction. Here, of course, it is very important to find ways to launch banking tools in Artsakh, which should support economic development and create an investment environment.
Of course, it is clear that this has many nuances and components and we must make the necessary decisions in a timely manner, but on the other hand, in order to be able to solve these issues.”
In his turn, the President of the Republic of Artsakh Aryaik Harutyunyan noted, “Mr. Prime Minister, dear colleagues, in the post-war situation we have definitely managed to maintain a stable social situation in Artsakh at the expense of the resources provided by the Armenian Government. Regardless of the number of displaced people, we did not have any acute problems.
Of course, there are still problems with housing, but social payments have helped solve the problems we see. Socially, the targeted policy of the Government of the Republic of Armenia has solved these problems, in parallel, we have been able to implement certain economic programs, but we must realize that the economy has a problem of injecting much more resources. In all directions, agriculture, energy, the traditional branches, due to which the economy of Artsakh was developing, had great losses.
Yesterday we managed to discuss and reach certain agreements; of course we will need your assignments to turn the ideas we had into plans. In order to have a positive demographic picture, in addition to social programs, we will have to implement specific economic programs to provide jobs and restore the economy.
However, I want to mention an interesting number. According to the draft state budget for 2021, we had planned our own revenues of AMD 16-17 billion, but we will definitely exceed AMD 30 billion ($60 million). The largest taxpayer, employer – ‘Blaze Metals’ - Kashen copper mine is already operating at 15-20%. The state budget of Artsakh will provide AMD 20-25 billion. If we manage to implement the planned energy and water programs, from March to April next year it will work at 80-90% of its capacity, which will provide additional AMD 20-25 billion to the Artsakh state budget.
We have already started the water projects for that, we will finish it in 3 months, and in terms of energy, it will take much longer. But at the same time, we have already started the construction of a 17-megawatt hydroelectric power plant in the Charektar-Getavan section. In the first stage, we will attract resources from different sources; it will become an open joint-stock company, which will allow attracting resources from investors. We have such an experience with Artsakh HPP, we have set a task to exploit that capacity in the winter of 2022-2023. And on the new road we are already planning a project to build a more powerful high-voltage hydroelectric power plant, which will provide that opportunity. Our second potential project is the construction of a 25-megawatt hydroelectric power plant in the Sarsang-Mataghis section, in which case we will already be self-sufficient.
In terms of agriculture, certain programs have been launched, particularly in the construction of new gardens. The people already have that desire that is why our discussion today will solve many issues. Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to thank the Government of the Republic of Armenia again under your leadership for responding promptly to all the issues and providing solutions.”
