Saturday, July 7 2018 14:42

ArmInfo. The labor market and migration are among the key issues in Armenia. This opinion was expressed by Tatul Manaseryan, doctor of economic sciences,  professor, member of the Eurasian Expert Club, at the conference  "Armenia-Russia Strategic Union: realities and modern challenges".

According to him, several possibilities for reducing migration are  being considered, in particular, by improving the quality of  education, the formation of training centers and the introduction of  innovations.  "At present, the army and the mining sector have a  great potential for introducing innovations, with local developments,  creating new jobs, engineering development." Many see migration and  job creation as a bunch of science and industry, believing that the  emphasis should be on developing a military industrial complex,  ensuring the production of all components necessary for the  military-industrial complex in the territory of Armenia,  de-genetizing and transferring production to the private sector but  it requires a non- standard political solution - to create a Chamber  of Deputies of the Diaspora in the Armenian parliament, where the  Armenian communities delegate their representatives. The delegates  from the Diaspora will not only attract investments, but also monitor  the implementation of projects process, so that all thesis papers are  prepared at the enterprises where the graduates can get a job after  graduation ", the expert explained, noting that every year around 200  thousand Armenian labor migrants leave for Russia for seasonal  earnings.  "They, like the representatives of the two million  Armenian Diaspora in Russia, send remittances to Armenia, which is a  very serious contribution to the country's economy, ensuring a stable  income of about 20% of the country's population," he said that this  is in no small measure promoted by the legislative and legal base of  the EAEU.  According to him, Armenia's membership in the Eurasian  Economic Union made it easier for Armenian labor migrants to appeal  the ban on entry to Russia. "It is easier for Armenian citizens to  appeal against the ban on entering Russia than for citizens of  countries that are not members of the EAEU .If citizens of these  countries undergo a complex and lengthy procedure, in the case of  Armenia, Russia has agreed to accept applications submitted to the  Migration Service of Armenia and conduct an audit personal affairs of  people, "Manasaryan said, as a result of simplification of procedures  related to labor migration, pointing to the fact of increasing  transfers to Armenia in recent years. According to him, this provides  the basis for asserting that the Russian labor market will be the  most attractive for Armenian labor migrants in the foreseeable  future.  At the same time, he stressed that in the first quarter of  2018 there were contradictory trends in the field of private cash  transfers. In the beginning, in January private transfers amounted to  94 million 672 thousand dollars. Compared with December - it's less  by 100 million dollars. Most of the transfers - 51.7 million dollars  - came from Russia, 12.3 million dollars - from the USA.  "As for  remittances from Russia to Armenia, in February 2017, compared to  February 2016, they increased by 26.5% to $ 57.2 million, according  to the data of the Central Bank of Armenia. The republic grew by  31.4%, while at the same time, money transfers from the USA in  February 2017 as compared with the same period in 2016 decreased by  11.6%, amounting to $ 12 million (for the month - an increase of  12.4% ) According to the Central Bank, in February this year,  compared with February last year, a decline in remittances from  Armenia to Russia by 35.6% to $ 21.3 million and the growth of  transfers from the Republic to the United States tripled - up to $  20.8 million. The total private transfers received through the  Armenian banking system in the name of individuals for non-commercial  purposes amounted to $ 101.1 million, which is 1.58% less than the  same period of the previous year and 19.9% more than last month.   Finally, in March 2018, through the Armenian banking system, in the  name of individuals for non- commercial purposes, Armenia received  more than $ 137.1 million of cash, which is 7.54% more than in March  2017. According to the Central Bank, money transfers in March  compared with the previous month increased by 8.3%. Regarding the  volume of transfers from Armenia abroad, it amounted to about $ 99.89  million against $ 74.5 million for March 2017 (growth for the month  by 0.71%). As a result, the net inflow of earnings for March 2018  compared to the same period in 2017 decreased by 29.7% to $ 37.2  million (an increase of 36% over the month). At the same time, the  inflow of remittances from Russia for March 2018 compared to March  2017 increased by 25.9%, to $ 81.1 million (an increase of 18%). The  outflow of money from the republic to Russia increased by 50.8% to $  42.4 million (an increase of 39%). According to the Central Bank, in  2017, the inflow of money transfers to Armenia totaled $ 1,756.4  million (an increase of 14.5%), and the outflow - 1 024.9 million (an  increase of 25.4%). As a result, the net inflow of revenues for the  past year was about $ 731.5 million (an increase of 2.2%), "summed up  the expert.  The conference is organized by the research and  analytical public organization "Integration and Development" and the  Eurasian Expert Club.