How does Armenia go about becoming self sustainable?

[TomServo]

Re: How does Armenia go about becoming self sustainable?

I found the extent of environmental destruction in Armenia to be shocking, and especially disturbing given Armenia's small size. A lot of it dates back to Soviet-era misuse (mining, quarrying, and so on) and post-Soviet economic collapse (outside of Yerevan the country is littered with derelict factories and houses) - but there has been no attempt at clearing any of that up. Instead, all there has been is even more destruction in new areas thanks to oligarch-owned mines. Agriculture is mostly neglected by the government - there is no incentive for it to encourage small producers in Armenia because they would compete with the foodstuffs imported and sold through the oligarch monopolies. What Armenia needs to be more self-sustainable is greater democracy, greater social freedoms, a proper rule of law that protects individuals from the corrupt and powerful, and complete economic openness.

[jgk3]

Re: How does Armenia go about becoming self sustainable?

Thanking for posting these tomservo

[ara87]

Re: How does Armenia go about becoming self sustainable?

I think that while focusing on getting members of the Diaspora to move to Armenia, another way to help Armenia to improve itself would be to focus on increasing the amount of non-Armenians immigrating to Armenia, the overall idea being that a increase in non-Armenian immigrants will help negate the dropping population by replacing some of the annual losses. It would also help to reduce the amount of Armenians leaving Armenia by stimulating the Armenian economy.

A figure of 150,000-250,000 immigrants over the next 10-15 years is what I would have in mind, none of which would come from any nation bordering Armenia, but rather would specifically be from the top 7 economies in the world, the USA, China, Japan, Germany, France, Brazil, and the UK respectively. Having noticeable minority groups of people from these nations would serve to strengthen political and economic ties with these nations, whether it comes to foreign aid(The USA, UK, Japan, France, and Germany are the top 5 donors of global foreign aid) or having these nations take a more balanced approach in Armenia-Azerbaijan & Armenia-Turkey related issues.

Having a large enough minority from these nations in Armenia might also serve to bring investments from privately owned firms and businesses in those countries to Armenia which may not have noticed Armenia had it not been for the immigrant group. For instance maybe a French or German company looking to open up a factory somewhere near the caucuses would choose Armenia, rather than Georgia b/c they know there's a French or German presence in Armenia, even if a minimal one.

The immigrants themselves would also help in more direct ways such as supporting the Armenian economy through buying Armenian made goods and merchandises and also by investing their own capital into Armenia through opening a business of their own, thus creating jobs. The immigrants would also stimulate Armenia’s construction and housing industries as new homes and buildings or renovations to existing structures would be needed.

It would also be beneficial to strive to recruit useful/skilled immigrants such as doctors, teachers & professors, architects, and engineers- people who could provide benefit even if they eventually choose to leave because they will impart some useful knowledge to their Armenian colleagues. If they stay, some of these doctors and teachers could possibly open up a school or clinic in the more remote and rural areas which would help ensure better access to healthcare and education.

In regards to Armenia's tourism, a permanent body of foreign immigrants would help it as their family and friends would be likely to visit them every so often. Their presence in Armenia would also raise Armenia's profile back in the immigrant's countries of origin resulting in Armenia receiving tourists not directly related to the immigrants as well.


As far as worries on the impact on culture go, since the immigrants would come from various linguistic backgrounds, and be spread across Armenia, they would have to learn Armenian in order to function in the country. Religion wise, all the aforementioned countries except China and Japan are all predominately Christian, and many of them would probably just end up going to Armenian churches in the long run. As far as food goes, I’m sure no one in Armenia would mind some foreign themed restaurants opening up. Music wise, having Europeans in Armenia will ensure Armenia does better in Eurovision so you know it’s a win ;-)

Oh and lastly, before you say we could never get that many people to move to Armenia, the number of people who live in well to do nations that permanently move to countries in states equal to or worse off than Armenia is astounding, I just think no one ever picks Armenia b/c truly not many people have heard about it.