Azernews.Az

By Jamila Babayeva

For the fifth time, Armenia is absent from the World Economic Forum. (WEF) Experts say they expected the absence because Armenia could not achieve any economic growth over the last years.

This comes as Armenia's neighbours Azerbaijan and Georgia have always attended the WEF at the highest level. Azerbaijan and Georgia achieved better economic indicators over the last years. The countries also enjoy the benefits of regional economic projects which link them together.

The 44^th Davos meeting began on January 22 and will last till the January 25. The world's most important and authoritative economic event attracted more than 40 state and government heads and 2,500 participants from 100 countries.

Armenian economic experts believe that the authorities do not attend the forum because they have "nothing to say." So, Armenian government prefers to save money from the state budget on useless charter flights.

Armenia concluded the year of 2013 only with some complicated economic and social indicators. Unemployment, migration outflow and poverty remain the country's serious problems of the country. Instead of taking effective measures to improve social-economic indicators, the government has only deteriorated the situation.

According to the World Bank's report, unemployment rate in Armenia is "far above the regional average" and 18 percent of the workforce is unemployed. The Armenian government has suspended paying unemployment benefits, which only increases migration outflow. Only in the past three years, 250,000 people have left Armenia.

The unemployment rate in the country reached its record - 18,64 percent in 2013, International Labour Organization's "Global Unemployment Trends 2014" report noted. The rate is the highest among the CIS and South Caucasus countries. Unemployment rate was 5,5 percent in Azerbaijan and 14,3 percent in Georgia in 2013.

The Index of Economic Freedom has deteriorated by 3 steps in Armenia, reaching from 38th to 41st among 178 countries, the American Heritage Foundation reported.

Moreover, Armenia is not attractive for foreign investors. Foreign direct investment decreased 62.1 percent in Armenia during the first nine months of 2013. Foreign investors pass over Armenia due to poor and corrupted economy, lack natural resources and complicated social-economic situation.

Furthermore, Armenia's small economy suffers seriously from monopoly. The monopolies and oligopolies hold about 60-percent share in the Armenian market, the World Bank's report on "Republic of Armenia. Accumulation, competition, cooperation" published in November 2013, noted.

Armenian government has not yet stated the economic growth rate for 2013. The government continues analyzing the rate, but how they can analyze the no growth is a question by itself.

The government decided to sell precious metals from the state treasury saying that "saving them is ineffective". At the next meeting government, with short of money will discuss the issue on the selling precious metals at public auction. It seems Armenia's government has lost its head in the situation which is rich with mass serious problems.

However, Armenian government has its illogical reason for not participating at the WEF. Yerevan prefers "Chinese Davos".

Armenian PM's press-speaker said the government prefers not to participate at the Davos forum but it would take part in other forthcoming world economic events in summer such as "Summer Davos" which it attended in China last year. The World Economic Forum is incomparable with the Summer Davos in terms of format and size.

Armenian people are short of money, as well as the government. People have no money because they do not have job, there is no job because there is no favourable business environment, no investments. These facts stimulate the migration outflow, which has reached the catastrophic level in the country. People who doomed to live in Armenia suffer from poverty. More than half of Armenian pensioners also remain in poverty. So, Armenian government encourages only migration and poverty.

Armenia holds 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories under occupation. Yerevan's aggressive policy left the country out of all major regional economic projects, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. As a response to aggressive policy, Turkey also closed its borders with Armenia, demanding it to withdraw its troops from occupied lands of Azerbaijan. The blockade of the country continues to slowdown economic growth in Armenia.

Armenia seems to continue to avoid the World Economic Forum for the subsequent years for not being disgraced worldwide. Armenia leaves itself out of the world's economic map due to non-effective social-economic policy and an aggressive and occupation policy toward its neighbors.