YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. The priority task of Armenia’s new government should be holding snap parliamentary elections, Arsen Ghazaryan – President of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia (UMBA), told ARMENPRESS.

“The real picture of the political field should be expressed in the Parliament via the early elections. This is very important since the business community is at the expectation stage. In addition, one of the main tasks of the Cabinet should be to implement their slogans as a goal”, Arsen Ghazaryan said.

Although little time has passed since the launch of the activity of the new Cabinet, the UMBA President stated that there are already positive signals in some directions. He said during the meeting of a group of businessmen and the Prime Minister, he stated that the changes that are noticed already in the administration are very welcomed.

“The process of correcting, improving own activity by the business is being noticed. The trend exists, but what results we will achieve depends on both the businessmen so that they will believe in the irreversibility of qualitative changes, and on the managers so that today’s declared policy will not be undermined in the practical administration. The business just waits for these changes to be permanent, irreversible, in that case we will expect the results which be revolutionary. That is cutting shadow, drastic increase in budget revenues, equal competitive field, total elimination of discriminations and artificially-created monopolies. We are at the stage of such positive expectations”, Arsen Ghazaryan said.

Commenting on the opportunities to increase the investments, the UMBA President said the main precondition for attracting foreign investments is to boost the domestic investments.

“We need to activate them domestically so that the foreign investor will have a trust. I am convinced that if we increase the degree of equal competitiveness field, we will have activation of both domestic and foreign investments. The main condition is the equal competitive field for boosting business, as well as the absence of discrimination”, Arsen Ghazaryan said, stating that there are positive signals, but all these needs to be maintained and continue.

On May 8 Nikol Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister of Armenia by the Parliament. The new Cabinet is already formed and has approved the government’s program on June 1. The Parliament will debate the program on June 7. One of the priority tasks of the government’s program is to hold snap parliamentary elections within a year.

Interview by Anna Gziryan

English – translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan