Tuesday, 29 December 2015
Prime Minister: “We were able to defy challenges and provide economic growth”
An extraordinary Cabinet sitting was held today, chaired by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan. Before proceeding to the agenda, the Prime Minister stated in part, “Our country faced numerous important events, challenges and achievements in 2015. It would be hard to summarize them, of course. Nevertheless, I would like to single out three major events.
Economic growth is the first of them. Though Armenia could stay aloof from the negative impact of serious geopolitical and regional challenges, nevertheless, owing to centralization of resources and efforts, and non-standard steps taken by the Government, we were able to confront overcome the difficulties and ensure economic growth.
In January-November 2015, the index of economic activity was about 3%, while authoritative international organizations and experts predicted a zero growth rate, or even a negative one for Armenia at the beginning of the year.
The growth breakdown is as follows: industry - 4.6%, agriculture - 11.6%, tertiary sector less trade - 3.0%. The twelve-month inflation rate stood at 1.9% in November as compared to the same month of 2014, with an average inflation rate of 4.1%, while the average monthly wage increased by 8.5%.
Please note that it came against the background of depreciating Russian ruble and shrinking remittances from the Russian Federation, which proved down nearly 500 million US dollars.
In the face of such a drastic decline, the stated growth and the improved balance of payments is a major achievement, which demonstrates the viability of our economy and the effectiveness of the Government’s policy line.
The second major achievement I would like to emphasize is the implementation of constitutional reforms and the adoption of amendments to the Constitution through a popular vote. Approved by the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, the amended Constitution will undoubtedly serve as a valuable foundation for the well-being and sustainable development of our country.
I specifically appreciate the fact that the new constitution dramatically increases the role of the National Assembly, with truly efficacious mechanisms established for parliamentary oversight and improved government accountability.
The third major achievement was our country’s deeper and well-balanced economic integration: the Republic of Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union since early 2015.
We boast dynamically developing exports and expanding geographical coverage. Despite the fact that the ten months’ exports toward the CIS countries fell by about a quarter, the total amount of exports only faced a two-percent decline.
Our analyses are clearly indicating that by joining the EAEC, the Republic of Armenia was able to mitigate the impact of lower exports as compared to other countries in the region, such as Moldova and Georgia.
At the same time, in December 2015, the Republic of Armenia initiated large-scale negotiations with the European Union under which we will discuss not only political, but also numerous economic issues aimed at increasing our interaction with the economies of EU-member nations. I am sure that we will boast new achievements in 2016. As the head of government, I declare that the Government will make every effort to increase economic growth, build up the country’s defensive capacity and improve the citizens’ well-being. We will do it all together, jointly.”
The Government amended the decree “On establishing mandatory deadlines for online communication to tax authorities of evidence about the amount of cash register-operated cash payments made during a business day.” It is proposed to set January 1, 2017 as the deadline for the introduction of new-generation cash registers by those taxpayers with sales receipts under the mark of 10.0 million drams in 2013, 2014 and 2015. May 1, 2016 is set as the deadline for those taxpayers with sales receipts between 10.0 million and 58.35 million drams as stated in 2014 and from AMD10.0 million to AMD115.0 million during the year 2015.
The Government accepted the proposal to sign the protocol on amendments to the December 2, 2013 agreement between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of natural gas, petroleum products and rough diamond supplies to Armenia. The Protocol will help create favorable conditions for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation and economic relations, continued growth of business activity between the two countries.
In conclusion, the Prime Minister offered his Season’s congratulations: “I wish robust health, every success and peace to you and your families. God bless us all.”
