‘Armenia Not a Business Market,’ Catholicos Aram I Says at Armenia-Diaspora Forum

Armenia is not a recreation center, it’s not a business market or a passport; woe to us if this is how we perceive Armenia, Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, said today during the Armenia-Diaspora Sixth Pan-Armenian Forum. Apart from occasional investments, he continued, the Diaspora could also contribute to the Armenian economy with more large-scale and long-term programs.

“We won’t be able to create a powerful Armenia by doing charity on the one hand and making calls for doing business in Armenia on the other, no matter how valuable such initiatives are,” Aram I said.

Before the speech of the Catholicos, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan gave a positive assessment of the country’s relations with the Diaspora, praising the “investment power” of the latter. “Over the 26 years of independence, our business community has made numerous donations and charities in Armenia and Artsakh. They have also contributed to our bright future in the face of Tumo centers, Smart centers and more.

“Now we say that we have to take a step forward and turn to Armenia the investment potential of those Diaspora Armenians who wish to engage in entrepreneurship and make a profit by simultaneously boosting the country’s well-being, creating jobs, promoting the social capital and after all, repatriation. Already today we have such inspirational examples,” Sargsyan stated.

Aram I, however, disagreed with Sargsyan, urging in his speech to be more realistic about the dangers threatening Armenia. According to the Catholicos, “Armenia is emptying, and the Diaspora is getting worn out.”

“Random initiatives cannot relieve our fears or cure our wounds against this dangerous reality. The Armenia-Diaspora cooperation should be taken out from the range of random economic investments and tourist visits and turned into one of the most important foundations of our national policy…

“[…] Loyalty to the homeland is above any aspirations. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately reduce the level of emigration and take concrete measures to ensure the numerical growth of the population of Armenia. We have to be careful. If the development of the Armenian economy is too slow, and if the people’s standard of living is not satisfactory, emigration can continue with the same scale, and poverty will become a source of various social and moral disasters,” Aram I warned.