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Armenia's Economic Pulse

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  • Haykakan
    replied
    Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

    Originally posted by londontsi View Post
    Has anybody heard any enthusiasms or response from Georgia in this matter.

    This project can only become viable if it terminates on the Black sea, which means Georgia's participation.

    .
    Georgia is now a puppet of the west and its participation or none participation will be decided by outsiders who do not like Iran.

    Leave a comment:


  • londontsi
    replied
    Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

    Originally posted by Haykakan View Post
    The Iranian/Armenian railway does hold a great deal of potential.

    ARMENIA CAN BE A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE PERSIAN GULF AND THE BLACK SEA: IRAN'S AMBASSADOR

    http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/07/24...ns-ambassador/
    Has anybody heard any enthusiasms or response from Georgia in this matter.

    This project can only become viable if it terminates on the Black sea, which means Georgia's participation.

    .

    Leave a comment:


  • Mos
    replied
    Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

    Originally posted by Haykakan View Post
    The Iranian/Armenian railway does hold a great deal of potential.

    ARMENIA CAN BE A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE PERSIAN GULF AND THE BLACK SEA: IRAN'S AMBASSADOR

    18:15, 24 Jul 2015
    Siranush Ghazanchyan

    Iran will be able to deepen its international relations, especially
    with neighbors, after the sanctions are lifted, Ambasaador
    Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Armenia Mohammad Raisi
    told reporters in Yerevan.

    The Ambassador said Iran's Vice-President will visit Armenia in the
    coming months.

    The Ambassador said "Armenia can be a bridge linking the Persian Gulf
    to the Black Sea." "This may take a long time, but it's unequivocal
    that communications can have a serious impact on the development of
    Armenian and Iranian economies," he noted.

    He added that the lifting of sanctions and Iran's return as a
    full-fledged member of the international community will change the
    situation in the Middle East and will give new quality to the relations
    with neighbors.

    Mohammad Raisi hopes the level of economic relations between Armenia
    and Iran will reach that of political ties.

    As for the Karabakh conflict, the Ambassador hopes the issue will be
    solved in a peaceful way through negotiations.

    He said "Peace and security in neighboring countries is a guarantee
    of Iran's security."

    http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/07/24...ns-ambassador/
    It is important we work on North/South corridor. China is a very good potential investor. The West should know, that Armenia as a stable country would be a much better transit country from Gulf to Black Sea, then let's say Turkey.

    Leave a comment:


  • Haykakan
    replied
    Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

    The Iranian/Armenian railway does hold a great deal of potential.

    ARMENIA CAN BE A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE PERSIAN GULF AND THE BLACK SEA: IRAN'S AMBASSADOR

    18:15, 24 Jul 2015
    Siranush Ghazanchyan

    Iran will be able to deepen its international relations, especially
    with neighbors, after the sanctions are lifted, Ambasaador
    Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Armenia Mohammad Raisi
    told reporters in Yerevan.

    The Ambassador said Iran's Vice-President will visit Armenia in the
    coming months.

    The Ambassador said "Armenia can be a bridge linking the Persian Gulf
    to the Black Sea." "This may take a long time, but it's unequivocal
    that communications can have a serious impact on the development of
    Armenian and Iranian economies," he noted.

    He added that the lifting of sanctions and Iran's return as a
    full-fledged member of the international community will change the
    situation in the Middle East and will give new quality to the relations
    with neighbors.

    Mohammad Raisi hopes the level of economic relations between Armenia
    and Iran will reach that of political ties.

    As for the Karabakh conflict, the Ambassador hopes the issue will be
    solved in a peaceful way through negotiations.

    He said "Peace and security in neighboring countries is a guarantee
    of Iran's security."

    Leave a comment:


  • londontsi
    replied
    Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

    Could Russia Spoil Armenia’s Iranian Investment Dreams?


    July 17, 2015 - 1:00pm, by Gayane Abrahamyan


    Hopes are running high in Armenia that the pending end of international sanctions against Iran, its southern neighbor, will advance strategic investment projects. But Armenian analysts caution that Russia, Tehran’s longtime regional rival, may foil Yerevan’s ambitions.

    Although no exact timeline exists for the lifting of sanctions against Iran, the United Nations could consider the issue during the week of July 20, provided the International Atomic Energy Agency finds that Tehran has restricted its nuclear research as specified under the July 14 deal with the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, France, and Germany, news agencies report.

    The prospect of lifted sanctions has investors busy making up wish lists. The sense of anticipation is especially high in Armenia, which has endured an economic blockade by its neighboring Azerbaijan and Turkey since the early 1990s. For more than 20 years, Iran has served as one of only two economic trade routes to the outside world for landlocked Armenia. A significant expansion of Armenian-Iranian trade ties could effectively break the Azeri-Turkish economic blockade.

    In recent years, financing for joint Armenian-Iranian projects has run scarce. Among Yerevan’s top priorities is an estimated $3.2 billion, 470-kilometer-long railway that would run from the Iranian border into Armenia and, conceivably, onto the Black Sea ports of Armenia’s northern neighbor, Georgia.

    The Armenian government for the past few years has been negotiating with potential investors, including China, which in 2014 announced a $40-billion infrastructure fund to develop links between Asia and Europe.

    Yerevan hopes that infrastructure development will be a priority for the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a regional economic organization that Armenia joined in 2015. During a July 9 speech at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Ufa, Russia, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan touted the railroad as a project that could “provide” the EEU “direct access to the Indian Ocean through the Persian Gulf.”

    Some Armenian experts believe that the construction of a hydropower plant on the Arax River on the Armenian-Iranian border could rank as the most feasible post-sanctions project. As yet, Moscow has expressed no objections.

    But Armenian ambitions are prioritizing the Iranian-Armenian railway. Ara Nranian, a board member of the EEU’s regulatory body, believes that Armenia “can become a transportation loop” connecting Iran and the EEU, the Tert.am website reported.

    Getting the railway up and running is “strictly important” for Yerevan from a strategic and economic standpoint since it would render “pointless” the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockade of Armenia, stressed Vardan Voskanian, chair of Yerevan State University’s Iranian studies department.

    The Russian-state-owned Russian Railways, though, holds a contract to manage Armenia’s railroads until 2038, and has made it clear it does not welcome competition. Prior to the announcement of the Iranian nuclear deal, Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin dismissed the Iran-Armenia railroad as not “productive.”

    “It’s like opening a window onto the wall of a neighbor’s house,” he quipped to ArmInfo in June. A Russian Railways-proposed rail link from Russia to Iran via Azerbaijan, Armenia’s eastern neighbor, most interests the company, Yakunin told the Regnum news agency in 2014.

    Asked to respond to Yakunin’s stance, Armenian Transportation and Communications Minister Gagik Beglarian maintained in late June that “Armenia’s position has not changed.”

    “The railway is of vital importance and no effort should be spared to find investors and to implement the project,” Beglarian told EurasiaNet.org. Iranian officials have not yet commented.

    Armenia’s trade turnover with Russia stood at $1.4 billion in 2014, while Iranian trade with Armenia was a far more modest $291 million for the same year. Overall, the Islamic Republic ranked as Armenia’s fifth largest trade partner in 2014, with Iranian exports accounting for nearly 70 percent of bilateral commerce.

    Arsen Ghazarian, chair of Armenia’s Union of Manufacturers and Businesspeople, predicted that the removal of sanctions would boost trade with Iran, and encourage Iranian small businesses in Armenia.

    “Certain steps have been taken, some negotiations have been initiated in this sphere,” he told EurasiaNet.org, without elaborating.

    At present, about 3,000 Iranian firms, mostly small in scale, operate in Armenia. Direct investments in 2014 stood at a modest 45.6 million drams, or roughly $109,756, according to official data.

    Still, Iranian entrepreneurs interviewed by EurasiaNet.org expressed optimism about the future. Saeed Sanaee, who opened a carpet and flooring business in Yerevan in 2005, now expects “easier money transfers” and the chance for “better loans from our banks to increase our business here.”

    But economist Ashot Yeghiazarian, a lecturer at the Armenian State University of Economics, voiced doubts whether Armenia will be able to fully benefit from any Iranian trade opportunities. By joining the EEU, he said, Armenia “has lost the right to make independent decisions.”

    Political analyst Stepan Safarian, head of the Armenian Institute of International and Security Affairs, agreed. He believes that Russia likely considers Iran as a potential threat to its interests in the South Caucasus – particularly in the energy sphere.

    In June, the Armenian government sold the 40-kilometer section of a gas pipeline from Iran to the Armenian branch of Russian energy giant Gazprom, which controls Armenia’s gas supplies and distribution. Gazprom earlier had insisted that the pipeline’s diameter be reduced.

    Safarian sees the sale as a warning from Russia for Armenia “not to get too carried away with cooperation prospects with Iran.”

    “The deepening of Iran-Armenia relations largely depends on Russia-Armenia relations and the Kremlin’s decisions,” Safarian added.

    A 2013 agreement with Gazprom forbids Armenia from purchasing gas from any other provider until 2043.
    Last edited by londontsi; 07-21-2015, 03:32 AM.

    Leave a comment:


  • Haykakan
    replied
    Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

    Armenia should rely on Chinese investment for Armenia -Iran railway link, expert says







    Armenia should rely on Chinese investment for Armenia -Iran railway link, expert says


    YEREVAN, July 15. / ARKA /. If Armenia and Iran start the construction of a railway to link their countries they can rely on Chinese investment, Vardan Voskanyan, head of Iranian Studies Chair at Yerevan State University said today.

    He said Iran will step up its involvement in this project only in case of obtaining additional financing opportunities, which could come together with increasing exports of oil following the lifting of Western sanctions.

    Iranian officials used to express Tehran’s commitment to build an 80 km-long link connecting Iran’s existing railroad network to the Armenian border, however a considerably larger investment would be required to carry out the construction on the Armenian side.

    The agreement on the construction of the rail link was approved by Armenian and Iranian governments in 2009. In 2012, the Dubai-based Rasia FZE Investment Company was granted a 50-year concession by the Armenian government to build and manage the 305-kilometer railway from Armenia to Iran, to be named the Southern Armenian Railway (SAR).

    By late 2013 Rasia FZE contracted the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) to develop a feasibility study for the project, estimated to cost $3.5 billion. The high cost is explained by mountainous terrain through which it is supposed to pass. Specifically, the 305 km-long railway will have 19.6 km-long 64 bridges and 60 tunnels of 102.3 kilometers.

    The railway is to run from Gagarin station in Armenia’s Gegharkunik province to Agarak in southern Syunik and may transport up to 25 million cargos a year.

    According to an Armenian government statement, the Southern Armenia Railway will create the shortest transportation route from the ports of the Black Sea to the ports of the Persian Gulf and establish a major commodities transit corridor between Europe and the Persian Gulf region.” There were media reports saying Chinese companies were ready to finance 60% of the project.-0-



    18:09 15.07.2015
    - See more at: http://arka.am/en/news/economy/armen....YKQoSxVT.dpuf

    Leave a comment:


  • Haykakan
    replied
    Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

    Originally posted by Mher View Post
    Armenian Agricultural Exports Surge In 2015
    Հրապարակված է՝ 06.07.2015

    Exports of Armenian agricultural products soared by more than 55 percent in physical terms in the first half of this year, reflecting a bumper harvest of apricots and other fruits, according to official statistics released on Monday.

    Data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that Armenia exported just over 40,000 metric tons of fruits and vegetables, up from 25,700 tons in the same period last year.

    Apricots accounted for more than one-third of this figure. Their first-half sales abroad were up more than tenfold year on year, the official figures show.

    Armenian apricot production collapsed from almost 90,000 tons in 2013 to just 8,000 tons in 2014, owing to a devastating spring blizzard. Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetian predicted last month it will surpass the 2013 level this year thanks to very favorable weather conditions.

    Karapetian said that Armenia’s recent accession to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) paved the way for “large-scale exports” of apricots and other agricultural produce to Russia, their main market abroad.

    They will also be facilitated by a Russian ban on food imports from the United States and Europe which Moscow imposed last August in retaliation for Western economic sanctions. On the other hand, export revenue from Armenian farming output will be dragged down by last year’s sharp depreciation of the Russian ruble.

    Although the Ministry of Agriculture did not estimate the monetary value of the agricultural exports, the rapid growth of their physical volume is certain to boost Armenia’s overall agricultural output. With agriculture generating roughly one-quarter of Gross Domestic Product, that could in turn reflect positively on the country’s broader macroeconomic performance.

    The Armenian government has insisted in recent weeks that the domestic economy will continue to grow this year despite spillover effects of a recession in Russia. The International Monetary Fund, for its part, has forecast zero growth for the country in 2015.

    Exports of Armenian agricultural products soared by more than 55 percent in physical terms in the first half of this year, reflecting a bumper harvest of apricots and other fruits, according to official statistics released on Monday.


    Combination of good policy and very good fortune. This is the reason in spite of all organizations predicting a recession this year, we will probably see annual positive GDP growth
    This is exactly what I was talking about when we were discussing EEU membership and its economic implications. As you can see there is a nich for Armenia here and a very beneficial one.

    Leave a comment:


  • Mher
    replied
    Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

    Armenian Agricultural Exports Surge In 2015
    Հրապարակված է՝ 06.07.2015

    Exports of Armenian agricultural products soared by more than 55 percent in physical terms in the first half of this year, reflecting a bumper harvest of apricots and other fruits, according to official statistics released on Monday.

    Data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that Armenia exported just over 40,000 metric tons of fruits and vegetables, up from 25,700 tons in the same period last year.

    Apricots accounted for more than one-third of this figure. Their first-half sales abroad were up more than tenfold year on year, the official figures show.

    Armenian apricot production collapsed from almost 90,000 tons in 2013 to just 8,000 tons in 2014, owing to a devastating spring blizzard. Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetian predicted last month it will surpass the 2013 level this year thanks to very favorable weather conditions.

    Karapetian said that Armenia’s recent accession to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) paved the way for “large-scale exports” of apricots and other agricultural produce to Russia, their main market abroad.

    They will also be facilitated by a Russian ban on food imports from the United States and Europe which Moscow imposed last August in retaliation for Western economic sanctions. On the other hand, export revenue from Armenian farming output will be dragged down by last year’s sharp depreciation of the Russian ruble.

    Although the Ministry of Agriculture did not estimate the monetary value of the agricultural exports, the rapid growth of their physical volume is certain to boost Armenia’s overall agricultural output. With agriculture generating roughly one-quarter of Gross Domestic Product, that could in turn reflect positively on the country’s broader macroeconomic performance.

    The Armenian government has insisted in recent weeks that the domestic economy will continue to grow this year despite spillover effects of a recession in Russia. The International Monetary Fund, for its part, has forecast zero growth for the country in 2015.

    Exports of Armenian agricultural products soared by more than 55 percent in physical terms in the first half of this year, reflecting a bumper harvest of apricots and other fruits, according to official statistics released on Monday.


    Combination of good policy and very good fortune. This is the reason in spite of all organizations predicting a recession this year, we will probably see annual positive GDP growth

    Leave a comment:


  • Haykakan
    replied
    Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

    Originally posted by Federate View Post
    Great stuff. Looks like the EEU may become more economically worthwhile in the long run than many thought.
    I have been saying this since the start but people are way too brainwashed by western media to even consider anything beyond what the news tells them.

    Here is some more encouraging news.

    ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO COME OUT WITH STATEMENT ON ARMENIA IRAN RAILWAY LINK, MINISTER SAYS

    YEREVAN, June 22. / ARKA /. The government of Armenia is very likely
    to come out with a statement soon to clarify its position on a
    project calling for construction of a railway linking Armenia with
    Iran, Armenian deputy minister of transport and communication Artur
    Arakelyan said to parliament on Monday.

    He said the project is very important for the government which will
    make a clear statement to that end.

    He, however, noted that the most important condition for the beginning
    of the construction of the railway is the lifting of economic sanctions
    from Iran.

    According to earlier media reports, Vladimir Yakunin, the chief of
    Russia's state-run rail network RZhD spoke against the construction
    of the Armenia-Iran railway saying it would not be commercially viable.

    RZhD manages the South Caucasus Railways, a company operating Armenia's
    railroads.

    Yakunin's words caused uproar in Armenia making RZhD to come out with
    an official statement saying it considers the construction of e Iran -
    Armenia railway very important from the geopolitical point of view,
    but its implementation is difficult without government support.

    The agreement on the construction of the rail link was approved by
    Armenian and Iranian governments in 2009. In 2012, the Dubai-based
    Rasia FZE Investment Company was granted a 50-year concession by the
    Armenian government to build and manage the 305-kilometer railway
    from Armenia to Iran, to be named the Southern Armenian Railway (SAR).

    By late 2013 Rasia FZE developed a feasibility study for the project,
    estimated to cost $3.5 billion. The high cost is explained by
    mountainous terrain through which it is supposed to pass.

    Specifically, the 305 km-long railway will have 19.6 km-long 64
    bridges and 60 tunnels of 102.3 kilometers.

    The railway is to run from Gagarin station in Armenia's Gegharkunik
    province to Agarak in southern Syunik and may transport up to 25
    million cargos a year.

    According to an Armenian government statement, the Southern Armenia
    Railway will create the shortest transportation route from the ports
    of the Black Sea to the ports of the Persian Gulf and establish a
    major commodities transit corridor between Europe and the Persian
    Gulf region." .-0-

    The government of Armenia is very likely to come out with a statement soon to clarify its position on a project calling for construction of a railway linking Armenia with Iran, Armenian deputy minister of transport and communication Artur Arakelyan said to parliament on Monday.

    Leave a comment:


  • Federate
    replied
    Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

    Originally posted by Haykakan View Post
    INDIA CONFIRMS IT WILL SIGN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION

    16:35, 18 Jun 2015
    Siranush Ghazanchyan

    India has confirmed it will sign a free trade agreement with
    the Eurasian Economic Union on June 18 at the St. Petersburg
    International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2015). "We are definitely signing
    this agreement," Amit Telang, First Secretary of India's embassy in
    Russia told TASS on Thursday.

    The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is an international organization
    for regional economic integration. The member states of the union,
    which started operation on January 1, 2015, are the Russian Federation,
    the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic
    of Armenia.

    The EAEU is aimed at economic development of the member states by
    coordinating their economic policy and guaranteeing free movement of
    goods, services, capital and workforce.

    Apart from India, currently Vietnam, Iran, Egypt and Israel are
    negotiating the possibility of forming free trade zone agreements
    with the EAEU.

    http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/06/18...conomic-union/
    Great stuff. Looks like the EEU may become more economically worthwhile in the long run than many thought.

    Leave a comment:

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