Friday, August 26 2022 14:48

ArmInfo. Eurasian economic integration is an important direction for Armenia's policy, which occupies one of the key places in the development of the Armenian  economy, and the country is obliged to more closely, deeply and  proactively follow the processes within the framework of the EAEU.

On August 26 at a press conference in Yerevan, presenting the seventh  economic study of the Eurasian Expert Club, Coordinator of the Club,  head of the Integration and Development NGO Aram Safaryan expressed a  similar opinion, regarding the Armenian economy in H1 2022 in the  context of the country's membership in the EAEU,.

In this vein, he stated that H1 2022 was an unprecedented year for  Armenia in terms of economic growth in the post-Soviet space.  "Economic activity in H1 2022 increased by 10.5%. This is a very  high, unexpected and surprising indicator. It was unexpected, since  the largest international financial organizations, such as, the World  Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Bank for  Reconstruction and Development, the Eurasian Bank, forecasted much  more modest forecasts for the first half of the year at the end of  last year and at the beginning of the current year," Safaryan said,  recalling that at the beginning of the year the Armenian government  projected a possible economic growth of 7.5%, which was also expected  last year.

According to the expert, the economic indicators of Armenia are  supported by the dynamics of GDP, which increased by 8.5% compared to  the same period last year. "But we state that the growth, which was  mainly based on industry, construction and trade, gives rise not only  to a sense of satisfaction, but also causes paradoxes and  uncertainties," Safaryan noted.

At the same time, he stressed that the EAEU market is the most  favorable for the sale of Armenian finished products. Moreover,  according to him, the role of the Eurasian market in the context of  the last three years has been growing for Armenia from year to year,  with the exception of the pandemic one-year period.  "With proper  work and positioning itself, our country can reach even more  favorable indicators, expand economic contacts with the integration  Union, crossing the threshold of 30% by the end of the year," the  expert added. At the same time, Safaryan stated that there is a  specific situation when the unprecedented development and growth of  the economy gave rise to parallel processes, the most dramatic of  which is the growth of poverty.

"Yes, by the end of the year, the country will see some reduction in  the level of extreme poverty. But, at the same time, the World Bank  and rating agencies warn that, along with double-digit economic  growth in Armenia, the level of poverty will also rise significantly  by the end of the year. Thus, the poverty rate may reach 48% by the  end of the year, from 27% at the beginning of the year. This is a key  message to the Armenian authorities, the political field, public  activists, in particular the research community, by joining efforts  to try to mitigate the manifestations of these bad indicators as much  as possible," Safaryan said.

As a positive light, the expert noted that in the first half of the  year, compared to the same period last year, the volumes of exports  and imports in the direction of the EAEU increased. "Russia continues  to be the largest investor and economic partner of Armenia. The  Russian market is the largest for Armenian finished products. Russia  continues to be a country from which cheap gas is supplied to Armenia  and wheat is imported. The presence of Russian companies in Armenia  has increased many times, etc. Our trade and economic cooperation  with the Russian side is the largest contribution to ensuring and  strengthening the security of the Republic of Armenia," Safaryan  noted, emphasizing this is due to the fact that anti-Russian  propaganda has recently increased in the Armenian socio-political  field.

According to him, opponents of the Armenian-Russian friendship and  alliance are also trying to denigrate Armenia's membership in the  EAEU, falsifying reality and spreading the news that Yerevan was  forcibly thrown into the trap of the Eurasian Economic Union in  2013"We claim that this is not the case, moreover, we can confidently  state that the EAEU market is indispensable for the Armenian economy,  and the resources of this integration Union and the growth of trade  not only with Russia, but also with Belarus and Kazakhstan (which are  impressive) allow us to confidently notice that "this vector of  cooperation will continue to be the most important not only for our  trade and economic, but also political contacts and security issues,"  he concluded.