Armenian President: Economic development depends on business activity

• Wednesday, January 23, 22:29

The times when industry was developed at the expense of human health and the environment have passed, presidential candidate, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said on Wednesday while meeting his voters in Kajaran, Syunik region.

"Today we need a new approach based on effective management of limited natural resources. We should not make too much noise about each new mining project. We don't yet have the capacities the developed countries have. They can afford taking time in planning their mining activities, while we cannot wait for 70 or 100 years. But we must do all we can to use our mineral resources as effectively as possible," the President said.

During a meeting in Kapan, Sargsyan said that economic development depends on business activity. "For this purpose, we should start actively supporting SMEs. Today we are entering a new stage of business development and you will shortly witness this in your region," the President said.

He said that Kapan suffered a lot during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.  "Safe Armenia for Syunik is first of all peace guaranteed by a strong army. So, we will continue providing our army with modern hardware, including equipment produced in Armenia," the President said.