March 6, 2009 - 18:17 AMT
RA government must support domestic manufacturers under global economic crisis
"The National Assembly of Armenia must pass a Law on Industry and set up a Ministry of Trade & Industry," the Head of Armenian Manufacturers Union Vazgen Safaryan told a news conference on Friday. ''Under new CBA floating exchange rate policy and world financial crisis the Government should take care of local manufacturers and the Armenian industry.''


"In the 1930-s, when the crisis hit America for the first time, the US Government passed a law on Industry Restoration". Armenia is in similar situation now, so to strengthen our industry we need to create an investment fund in charge of import strategy, which will help decrease the import volume ( AMD 4,4 billion in 2008). The Armenian Government is already conducting negotiations with leaders of industry and importers urging them to invest in local production,'' Safaryan said.