RA MP predicts a tough year for Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The predictions of the opposition regarding the heavy consequences of the financial crisis for Armenia are unreal and have no grounds, head of Financial and Credit Committee of the Armenian National Assembly, member of ruling Republican Party of Armenia, Gagik Minasyan said during today's debates with the member of Heritage opposing party Vardan Khachatryan.



According to Gagik Minasyan, owing to the coordinated work carried by the government, the first stage of the financial crisis was not so painful and went rather smoothly and mildly for Armenia compared with other countries. But he added that 2009 is going to be tough and there can be no doubt about it, although there exist several mechanisms that can help overcome the crisis more easily. "They are the slight pressure on the price increase, the policy of the government to encourage local manufacturers, and the 70 billion AMD provision in the Central Bank of Armenia," he said.



Anyway, Vardan Khachatryan disagreed with the statement that the crisis in Armenia is going to be "smooth and mild." As he said, it is obvious that the first stage of the crisis is latent and almost invisible.



"We are now nearing a hard stage, and it can only be overcome through a clever implementation of the above mentioned mechanisms," he added.



Speaking of price boost on utility services Gagik Minasyan emphasized that the tariff increase runs in parallel with market price decrease. He also reminded that "last year ended with a 5.2% rise in prices, whereas in CIS countries this quotient was more than 10%."



"The third stage of the crisis is going to be the toughest,we can say we are experiencing the crisis peak and it will only be possible to fully restore the world economy and come back to a pre-crisis situation," Gagik Minasyan added.



Gagik Minasyan also dwelled on customs tax increase from 5 to 15%. In his opinion, this policy will encourage local manufacturers and, respectively, promote new job opportunities creation.