By Azernews

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Former Armenian authorities tried to present Armenia on the economic map of the world as a bridge between Europe and Asia.  More than one year passes since the postrevolutionary team led by Nikol Pashinyan came to power in Armenia; while things are right where they started.

Yerevan is still not aware of the reality that states that a country occupying the territory of a neighboring state and isolated in the region as a result of this policy, cannot serve as a bridge for various continents.

Recently, Armenian PM went to Singapore and Vietnam on an official visit. It is noteworthy, that the Armenian leader makes official visits exclusively to Asian countries. At the same time, he appears in Europe only to participate in some event, and in Moscow, when Armenia has some problem.

It is much easier to visit Asia because the geopolitical interests of these countries are far from the Caucasus. In addition, Asian countries are not so familiar with Armenia and are not yet aware of which "partner" they are dealing with economically. In political terms, Armenia is outside the sphere of interests of Asian countries. After all, Yerevan has no weight and is not able to influence the balance in its region.

The Armenian PM tried to lure the Vietnamese side with the help of false facts. Pashinyan assured the Vietnamese that the Armenian authorities managed to achieve fundamental changes in terms of improving the investment climate, that today there are no obstacles in the country for creating new enterprises and all mechanisms are created to protect investors' property by the state.

As for reality, a large business in Armenia is rapidly leaving the country, foreign investors are not willing to invest in this country, based on the experience of those who have already closed their business in Armenia. According to official data of the Statistical Committee of Armenia, direct investments in the first quarter of 2019 decreased by 37.1 billion drams ($78 million). If in the first quarter of 2018, this figure was 40.8 billion drams ($85.8 million), for the same period this year the figure was only 3.7 billion drams ($7.7 million).

Such a catastrophic drop in performance in just a year suggests that foreign investors are closely monitoring the situation and, apparently, it does not inspire them.

So, Pashinyan frankly lied to the Vietnamese. Therefore, it is not surprising that the president of Vietnam did not accept Pashinyan.

After his visit to Vietnam, Pashinyan arrived in Singapore, where he continued to fool potential partners. Following the visit, a number of documents were signed that are not of particular importance, if to take into account the real level of cooperation between the two countries.

Remarkable that the absence of the Prime Minister in the country on July 5 when the country celebrates Constitution Day, left unpleasant aftermath from the Armenian public and the expert community, which regarded this step as disrespect for the basic law.

Thus, Pashinyan criticized at home and treated with caution abroad.