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Akbar Novruz

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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has described the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) as a future cornerstone of the changing economic environment in Armenia and the wider region, saying work is underway to move the project towards implementation on the ground.

Speaking at the Armenia-United Kingdom Business Forum in Yerevan on Tuesday, Pashinyan linked Armenia's emerging investment prospects to what he described as the transformation taking place in the South Caucasus following the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“We are now working on a daily basis, in fact, to launch the implementation of the TRIPP project on the ground, which will definitely and undoubtedly be the cornerstone of changing the entire economic environment of not only the Republic of Armenia, but also of the region,” Pashinyan said.

According to the Armenian prime minister, expectations surrounding the project are already contributing to greater investor interest in the country.

“It is already such, because today we feel a certain activeness of investment appeal around Armenia, and it is clear that this project will in turn bring new projects, and the investment gravity of Armenia and our region will strengthen,” he added.

TRIPP is envisaged as a transport and connectivity route through Armenian territory linking mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave while forming part of broader efforts to unlock regional transport connections.

Pashinyan's remarks came during a business forum aimed at translating the growing political relationship between Armenia and the United Kingdom into greater commercial and investment cooperation.

The prime minister described the forum as a logical continuation of the strategic partnership established between Yerevan and London earlier this year.

“The Armenia-United Kingdom business forum is a very logical step after the memorandum establishing a strategic partnership between Armenia and the United Kingdom was adopted and signed by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and myself in May of this year,” Pashinyan said.

He argued that the central challenge following the establishment of a strategic partnership was turning political commitments between governments into practical cooperation.

“After establishing such a partnership, the primary question that arises for governments is as follows: and how to turn that political will, expressed in the adopted document, into reality? The most effective way to fulfill this task is to make the political content that is being discussed between governments a part of everyday life, and such forums serve precisely that purpose: to fill with real life the space that is, in fact, opened up by governments,” he said.

Pashinyan emphasized the role of businesses and individuals in identifying commercial opportunities that governments themselves may not necessarily recognize.

“As for the economy, management, business, experience has shown that specific people who are not constrained, including by a certain framework of government or other official duties, see opportunities and prospects better,” he said.

Referring humorously to a musical event connected with the forum, Pashinyan said he would not be surprised if some of the most promising ideas had emerged outside the formal discussions.

“I would not be surprised if it turns out that the main idea or ideas arose during a musical event to which we were not invited, and which ran like a red thread through the speeches. Therefore, the event was successful, and I am convinced that good music also gave rise to good and innovative thoughts, and during today’s discussions, these very thoughts, I hope, will already enter the next phase of their development, will become concrete agreements; if they become contracts, much better,” Pashinyan noted.

The Armenian prime minister presented the country's improving regional connectivity as part of a broader economic transformation, arguing that new transport links could generate additional projects and strengthen Armenia's attractiveness to foreign investors.

In this context, Pashinyan said the changing regional environment created by the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process and the prospective implementation of TRIPP could provide a new foundation for investment and economic cooperation extending beyond Armenia itself.