Economist-Lanalyst Lilia Amirkhanyan Analyzes Iranian Investments in Syunik

Economist-analyst Lilia Amirkhanyan has discussed the recent statement by the Minister of Economy regarding Iranian investors planning significant investments in Syunik, in an interview with Sputnik Armenia.

Syunik, where security issues have yet to be fundamentally resolved in the post-war period, is not particularly reliable from an investment attractiveness standpoint, according to Amirkhanyan from the ‘Hayatsk’ Applied Policy and Research Analytical Center.

“The situation is not favorable for private organizations, particularly for foreign direct investments in Syunik,” she stated.

The scenario is somewhat different regarding investments at the state level, such as the €2.6 billion support provided by the EU. In such cases, according to the analyst, the supportive party is addressing political issues.

“Some of this is unconditional support; some of it consists of subsidies for infrastructure, including investments. There is a significant political subtext in state-level investment issues, which means it is essential to understand what political problems are being resolved and what is being done in return,” Amirkhanyan noted.

Regarding the recent statement by Armenia’s Minister of Economy, Vahan Kerobyan, indicating that Iranians are poised to make serious investments in Armenia, particularly in Syunik, the analyst points out that there is still no clarification on what activities the Iranian investor representatives will undertake and what regulatory mechanisms will be established.

In her opinion, these are questions to which we do not yet have answers.