Wednesday, February 26 2014

Armenian migrants should be "ambassadors" of the national brand to foreign countries, Vasken Kalayjian, CEO at GK Brand, Inc., said at a press conference on Wednesday. He added that if people leave their Motherland, it does not mean they think hard things of it. 

Kalayjian thinks that the public, authorities, companies, NGOs, citizens, Diaspora, scientists, artists, farmers and others should have one Pan-Armenian message to represent their country on the international arena.

According to Kalayjian, the presence of the national brand plays an important role in formation of the country's image. He said that even many educated people have no idea of Armenia. Strong national branding is able to drastically change people's idea of a specific country and its economic, social and political situation for the better both at the national and international levels.     

CEO of the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia Arman Khachatryan, in turn, pointed out that the national brand plays an irreplaceable role in the country's economic development. "A thoroughly developed brand will enhance the brand awareness of products and the Armenian production services in the international market. It will also boost the inflow of foreign investments, because Armenia will be branded as a country with a sustainable, transparent and predictable economic climate", said Khachatryan. He added that the national brand will also boost tourism development because it will contain information about the national, cultural and historical values of the country. In other words, the country brand should contain reliable information about the country's past, present and future. Khachatryan stressed that the program on promotion of the national brand perfectly complements the ongoing aviation reforms and the open skies policy in the country.  

The press conference participants pointed out that the brand development is to be completed by1 Dec 2014.  Afterwards, a working program on introduction and promotion of the brand will be launched. 

To recall, on February 20, USAID and the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia (NCFA) signed an agreement under which USAID and the Government of Armenia will provide financial support to the Foundation to create a country brand for Armenia. The Armenian Government allocated 62 mln AMD (nearly 150 thsd USD) from the emergency fund, and USAID will provide Armenia with 255 thsd USD. 
To note, Armenia is the 137th on Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index.