Armenia remains outcast of region
By Rashid Shirinov
The standard of living in Armenia is getting worse from year to year due to unwise policy of the country’s leadership. The population is already accustomed to think that their country has no future, as Armenia is on edge of bankruptcy, and consequently, the standard of living in the country will only fall but not rise.
It is no secret that the Armenian economy is in ruins. Most lucrative industries have long been taken over by foreign companies, and the rest was embezzled by Armenian oligarchs.
Small and medium businesses, which should provide a substantial share of tax revenues to the country’s treasury, are simply dying in conditions of continuous pressure from the authorities and monopolists, and in lack of fair competition.
Few people dare to invest in the impoverished and corrupt Armenia. However, the Deputy Minister of Armenian Diaspora, Serzh Srapionyan, recently announced that the government works for attraction of foreign investment through the Diaspora, including the Syrian Armenians.
It is unclear what the Armenian government hopes for. Even the richest foreigners from affluent countries hesitate to invest their money in a country known for extreme corruption and huge number of citizens living below the poverty line.
The World Bank released in April that 76 percent of the Armenian population spend less than $5 per day and 26 percent – even less than $2.5.
Secretary of the Armenian National Congress parliamentary faction Aram Manukyan has recently admitted that today Armenia remains left out of all regional projects, and nothing is expected in the long term.
He noted that the country’s neighbors successfully develop political ties and economic cooperation, but Armenia remains an outcast of the region.
“Armenia has become nothing due to the current authorities, and Armenia has no influence on these players so as to strengthen its independence. That is a real loss of independence. Today there is no country that is completely would be a support for Armenia,” Manukyan underlined.
By and large, the conflicts with neighbors, including occupation of Azerbaijani territories, territorial claims and nonsense about the so-called “Armenian genocide” do not satisfy anyone in the region, including the Armenian people themselves. That is the wrong policy of the Armenian authorities.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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