President holds consultation to discuss draft Armenia Development Strategy - 2030

A consultation was held today in the Office of President to discuss the draft Armenia Development Strategy by 2030.

Different government departments and agencies were involved in the development of the document, which have so far conducted several topical discussions through relevant working groups. The Center for Strategic Initiatives performed the functions of working groups’ secretariat.

To begin with, the President of Armenia evoked a number of key issues of crucial importance for achieving Armenia’s prospective development targets, over which an agreement was reached at the previous meeting held in the same format.

“I wish to specifically emphasize the need for ensuring a sustainable and inclusive economic growth that should be felt for every citizen of Armenia, as well as for the achievement of our nationwide goals, the development of clear and measurable steps for having a four-million Armenia by 2040 and the determination of an interim target for 2030.

We have agreed that until 2030, we will be making efforts to develop our human capital, that is, we need to significantly increase the amounts allocated for education and healthcare. We have assumed a commitment which implies that the program should include up to several hundred thousand well-remunerated jobs by 2030. The program should specifically address unemployment among young people in order to minimize or, at least, to significantly curb juvenile unemployment.

By creating new jobs and raising salaries we should achieve a significant reduction in poverty. This is extremely important. Also, we have to think of improving our tax field so that the GDP/taxes ratio could be enhanced. In a timeframe shorter than the deadline of 2030, we must achieve a significant reduction in the shadow economy and expand documentation. Otherwise, we will not be able to improve the GDP/taxes ratio, which is crucial to budget spending.

We stressed the need for a shift from direct to indirect taxes as the key focus of our tax policy. I think this is also very important, because if we assume or forecast five or more percent growth, then we must have a competitive economy. Indeed, we should be competitive if we consider export promotion and job creation as one of our chief targets. From this perspective, we also need to decide when we shall start switching over to indirect taxation. And I think that the final document should set specific deadlines for ourselves,” President Sargsyan said, emphasizing that the document should be easily understandable and interpretable for both the Cabinet members and the public-at-large. As the President pointed out, the proposed efforts will be much more efficacious, if widely supported by the citizens of Armenia.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan gave a brief overview of the work done so far, noting that an ambitious and realistic program has been developed which sets clear-cut targets and planned actions to improve the quality of life in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of International Economic Integration and Reforms Vache Gabrielyan and Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Investments Tigran Khachatryan reported on Armenia Development Strategy’s target indicators and key approaches.