Jean-Michel Happi, the World Bank Country Manager for Armenia, said that the WB will assist the Armenian government in introducing amendments to the Law on Subsurface.

“The mining field has “easily accessible fruits” and it is an important source for economy’s diversification and formation of incomes from export. The field creates new jobs and budgetary incomes,” Happi told journalists.

At the same time, the expert noted that the current standards in Armenia create certain challenges related to environmental protection, social reporting, as well as tax regime. “These tasks are considered by investors during establishment of enterprises and exploration works,” Happi said.

Economist of the WB Yerevan Office Gohar Gyulumyan noted that the legislatives amendments envisage toughening of taxation. “Basic payments for natural resources usage will be increased,” she said, adding that a scale of fixed payments will be set, which will allow increasing taxation for raw materials mining simultaneously with growth in international prices.