Trend:

The level of corruption in Armenia being off the charts is a well-known fact, and this is one of the key reasons for the extremely depressing socio-economic situation in the country, independent economist Sergei Volodin told Trend.

According to the expert, as long as there are government officials like Hakob Arshakyan in the Armenian government, the country will continue to be in a deplorable state in the coming decades.

"Ever since the time of the Sargsyan regime, corruption has been an integral part of the socio-economic life in Armenia, and with the advent of the new government, nothing has actually changed. So, it is meaningless to talk about some kind of well-being in a country where the main corruptioneers are in charge of the state. It seems that Prime Minister Pashinyan is quite happy with the current state of affairs, as he has gathered corrupt officials around himself. It is therefore unsurprising that Arshakyan was allowed to veto a major investment project, which quite literally stirred the Armenian media," said Volodin.

According to recent information in the Armenian media, businessman Artur Yerznkyan, who lives in Russia, planned to invest $200 million in the telecommunications sector of Armenia. The entrepreneur's plans included the creation of a new mobile operator (the country currently has three), but the Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan vetoed this major investment project.

Volodin went on to say that it is not at all surprising that Armenia holds the last place in the region in terms of investment.

“The fact that this is being noted in the Armenian media indicates that the society sees that it will be difficult for Armenia to get out of a socio-economic crisis under the current government,” Volodin said.

The expert believes that, at such a pace, Pashinyan and his entourage will soon lead the Armenian economy to a dead end.