President invited a holiday reception for the representatives of the business community of Armenia

On the occasion of a New Year and Holy Christmas, a holiday reception was held today on behalf of the President of Armenia at the Presidential Palace for the representatives of the business community of Armenia. At the reception, President Serzh Sargsyan congratulated the entrepreneurs on the approaching holidays and wished them success in year 2017.

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Address by President Serzh Sargsyan at the New Year reception organized for the representatives of the business community

Dear Friends,

I cordially salute you and welcome to the Presidential Palace. In line with the tradition, which has years-long history, we meet at the end of each year to bid farewell to the passing year, recap the events and accomplished works, and pre-set the future activities.

Entrepreneurs represent one of the most vibrant segments of any society. Successful operations of the businesses create new jobs, new goods, and new services.
The most important prerequisite of making business is the individual entrepreneurship. You already stand out in Armenia for your work, thus the activities of every one of you should be in the center of the authorities’ attention.
The new government, which has already crossed the hundred days’ threshold, started its works based on that very premise. For the coming year and the future, I wish that a greater trust between the government and entrepreneurs make cooperation between them stronger.

Of course, trust is not to be measured. Nevertheless, from our daily life we all know that not a single new initiative will become a reality without trust. Its implementation requires joint efforts of numerous individuals and organizations.
Our new government provides us all with the opportunity to establish a new foundation for the efficient cooperation for the benefit of future development. With this regard, I expect the government to provide high quality services, becoming your trusted partner.

Consistent works of recent years allowed to significantly change Armenia’s foreign economic environment. As a result, the factors, which provide for the economic growth, have changed. However, I need also to say that there appeared certain external challenges which developed much faster than we were able to adjust to.
One thing is clear: we need a speedy growth, which in turn requires a set of new guidelines for the economic development. Because the inflow of the resources from outside has decreased, the boosting of the economic growth through the exports has become a priority. First steps on this direction have been made with the initiation of the policy aimed at the enhancement of exports.

Based on the available data for years 2015-2016, one can conclude that the economy possesses certain potential to develop in that direction. The ratio of exports and imports for January-November of 2016 allows to claim that the exports should become a driving force behind the future expeditious economic growth.
It is, however, necessary to work on this direction and not rely solely on the state resources. The opening of the entire potential of the private sector is the most important issue which will employ all possible formats of cooperation between the state and the private sector as it is stipulated by the policies adopted by the government.

Distinguished Entrepreneurs,

Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union facilitated the movement of goods and services at the market which has almost 180 million residents. Nevertheless, despite the observable progress, we still have much to do to fully utilize Armenia’s export potential.

Our entrepreneurs and state bodies together, shoulder to shoulder can find solutions for the arising problems. On this, we need not only the meticulous and consistent position of our officials but also creative ideas of the businessmen. Together, we should be able to bring forward new ideas, study new markets, and aggressively target these new markets. This is probably the most appropriate use for the word “aggressive”, on other issues aggression has no use.

For instance, the common market of medications created in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union creates wide opportunities for the Armenian enterprises working in this area, particularly for those who follow the practices of Exact production. Now, it is necessary for our producers to raise practical, precise issues with the corresponding agencies of our government, so that the latter are able to ensure the advancement of the Armenian production on that market.
The mentioned above is important not only for this particular production and this particular market. Opportunities and prospects like these are multiple and not only in the EEA but also in other regions.

Our primary task is to fortify the mutual trust between the government and the business community, promoting the advancement of our Homeland. I know pretty well that none of you will avoid an open and frank discussion. Be assured that in the person of the government you will find a worthy interlocutor.

It is necessary through the combined efforts to open new horizons for our country. I am confident that the coming few years will be groundbreaking for us. I am an optimist and expect you, infused with optimism, work for our common future.
Distinguished Colleagues,

In conclusion, I cordially congratulate you all on the occasion of the New Year. Firstly, I wish you all good health and happiness. I wish blithe and peace to your families. I wish success to your undertakings, solidarity to your enterprises and mostly importantly, a steady profitability.

I am confident that your personal success is our common success.
Thank you, and I congratulate you genially on the occasion of the New Year.