Presidents of Armenia and the Czech Republic attended the opening of the Business Forum

The President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman attended the opening of the Armenian-Czech Business Forum.

Serzh Sargsyan greeted the participants and organizers of the Armenian-Czech Business Forum, which became a traditional event, and expressed hope that the Forum will promote friendly relations of the two countries and further expansion of the economic ties as well as the discovery by the Czech businessmen of Armenia as a land of opportunities.

From the viewpoint of deepening the trade and economic relations, the President of Armenia stressed the importance of the February visit to Armenia of the Czech Minister for Industry and Trade Jan Mládek and the Business Forum organized in the framework of the visit.

The President of Armenia noted with satisfaction that today there are nearly 20 companies with Czech capital functioning in Armenia. According to Serzh Sargsyan, the citizens of Armenia have already had to some extend discovered for themselves Czech companies such as Czech Avto, Chantan, Praha, which imports Bohemian crystal glass, and others.

In his message to the participants of the Forum, Serzh Sargsyan presented in detail the favorable investment climate present in Armenia, current stage of the economy, Armenia’s leading role among the CIS countries in terms of economic freedom and doing business which is also registered in the rating reports of prestigious international structures. From the viewpoint of attraction foreign investments, the President of Armenia stressed in particular two factors – stability and economic interest. He underscored that with this regard Armenia possesses every prerequisite. President Sargsyan also underlined that since independence the macroeconomic stability of the country has been a priority and thanks to wise tax and budget, as well as monetary policies Armenian now has a stable macroeconomic environment.

“Nowadays, it is impossible to attract foreign investments if there is no political stability and predictability. By the way, when we say political stability, unlike some countries of the region, we first of all mean democratic stability based on human rights and the rule of law which allows to keep the country free from political shocks without endangering the future of the investments. Constitutional reforms in our country are also called to serve this purpose,” said the President of Armenia.

Serzh Sargsyan spoke about the comprehensive reforms carried out in Armenia and underscored that along the way the role of
the European Union – one of Armenia’s most important partners - has been significant. With the assistance of the EU,
trade regulations, food security, and intellectual property rights have been brought in compliance with the European standards.
The President of Armenia assured that Armenia will continue resolutely to move forward the agenda of reformation.

Serzh Sargsyan presented also new opportunities for the development of the Armenian economy and foreign investments and
favorable conditions which have appeared with the accession of our country to the Eurasian Economic Union. He underlined that Armenia has a preferential access regime to other economic areas, such as the EU, the US, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Norway and some other countries. According to the President, thanks to the preferential trade regime offered by these countries, Armenia can export goods of the Armenian origin to these markets with considerably low or zero tariffs.

“We are confident that enhancement of the high-class education and human potential are the most important guarantees of our country’s development, and we pay special attention to them. We have high-quality, educated labor force which can adapt to the requirements of modern labor markets,” said the President of Armenia.

President Serzh Sargsyan thanked the President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman for his participation at the Yerevan Business Forum and expressed confidence that thanks to diligent and efficient work, Armenia and the Czech Republic can register considerable results, defining new areas of bilateral cooperation.