President Vahagn Khachaturyan participated in the business forum entitled “Armenia: Accelerating Regional Success”, Armenian President’s press office reports.
Under the high patronage of the President of the Republic, Vahagn Khachaturyan, the business forum entitled “Armenia: Accelerating Regional Success” was held in Yerevan, within the framework of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank.
The President welcomed the attendees and delivered a speech, highlighting the importance of the meeting. In his remarks, he emphasized the need for cooperation, mutual trust, and unity around shared values for the sake of stability and development.
“I congratulate all of us on the successful organization of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank. Let me assure you that hosting this annual meeting in our country is considered a sign of respect and trust.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, alongside other financial institutions operating in the Republic of Armenia, has made a unique contribution to the stable development of Armenia’s financial system. As is well known, the bank offers a wide range of trade finance services, providing resources to Armenian companies with the aim of increasing and strengthening their competitiveness and participation in the market. On the other hand, the bank also provides loans to banks and other financial institutions that primarily finance and support small and medium-sized enterprises.
I am confident that our cooperation with the bank will continue to strengthen and contribute to the implementation of the strategic programs of the Central Bank of Armenia aimed at the development of the financial sector and improvement of financial accessibility in the Republic of Armenia.
I also view this event as an opportunity to present the achievements the Republic of Armenia has recorded in recent years and to jointly discuss ongoing and future projects and programs.
When speaking about developments in Armenia’s economy, it is important to highlight that in recent years the economy has gained significant momentum. As a result, there is a clear consensus among experts that the potential for economic growth has increased. This has been significantly supported by the Armenian government’s ambitious economic support programs, which are aimed at improving economic complexity and promoting high value-added production through domestic and foreign investments.
I also consider crucial the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Central Bank to ensure macroeconomic stability amid unprecedented global shocks in recent years. Macroeconomic stability is one of the key pillars for attracting investment to any country, and thanks to these efforts, Armenia has managed to maintain high growth rates and record low inflation, an exceptional result on a global scale.
Looking toward the future, our general direction is focused on science, education, and high technologies. Armenia aims to develop an economy that, on one hand, offers technological and innovative products to the world, and on the other hand, with its rapidly developing and modernizing infrastructure, significantly contributes to strengthening the region’s capacity to handle trade flows.
We are striving to position ourselves on the world economic map by creating a fundamentally new knowledge-based environment, emphasizing education, science, and research. As a vivid example of this, the Armenian government is modernizing educational infrastructure through large-scale construction of schools and kindergartens and is reforming all levels of the education system. We have also launched the landmark “Academic City” project, aimed at enhancing the quality of higher education and forming a developed ecosystem of research and development.
Armenia’s high-tech industry, which stands at the forefront of innovation, is paving the way to global markets. The sector’s best traditions have evolved into an ecosystem where global tech giants such as NVIDIA, Synopsys, Siemens, Adobe, D-Link, and others operate alongside successful home-grown startups like Picsart, Service Titan, YerevaNN, and others. I cannot overlook the latest exciting news regarding a new joint investment program worth an estimated $500 million to establish an artificial intelligence center, with participation from NVIDIA, Firebird, and Team.
We are convinced that to deepen regional cooperation, we must focus on the implementation of infrastructure projects and enhanced collaboration in sectors such as transportation networks, energy systems, and telecommunications.
Positioned as a unique strategic region connecting East and West, North and South, we also emphasize the necessity of establishing lasting peace in the region. One of the main preconditions for this is the resolution of regional conflicts. In this context, we highlight the ongoing process toward achieving peace with Azerbaijan.
We also believe that major infrastructure projects in the South Caucasus can serve as powerful unifying and integrating tools among the countries of the region.
Only with the participation of all South Caucasus countries and the alignment of all sides’ vital interests we will have a historic opportunity to create the foundations for cooperation, connectivity, and prosperity.
In this context, I would like to highlight our strategic initiative “Crossroads of Peace,” aimed at restoring cooperation in the region and revitalizing economic, political, and cultural ties between all countries through the unblocking of infrastructure.
All of this can gain significant momentum only through the establishment of a just society and the spread of these values throughout our region. In recent years, Armenia has prioritized the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law, reforms in the field of justice, and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. We have embarked on large-scale justice reforms, fundamentally transforming the judiciary and institutionalizing the fight against corruption. The results are already evident, as reflected in Armenia’s positive performance in international rankings by reputable organizations.
All the directions mentioned pave the way toward an advanced environment where a peaceful and prosperous Armenia and South Caucasus, as well as the broader Black Sea region, will make a significant contribution to global economic development, improved well-being, and overcoming global challenges.”
