“Poverty Stands at the Door of 600 Thousand People”: Narek Karapetyan

Leader of the 'Strong Armenia' faction Narek Karapetyan has stated that Armenia's economic model requires radical changes. According to him, the economic growth in recent years has not led to qualitative changes in the economy.

“In our country, poverty stands at the door of 600 thousand people. In the last eight years, until 2024, the poverty rate has decreased by only 2-3 percent, while the country has attracted 7-8 billion dollars in new loans,” Karapetyan said in the National Assembly.

He pointed out that alongside the approximately 5 trillion dram economic growth recorded in recent years, both state debt and citizens’ loan obligations have increased.

“About half of the entire economic growth, around 2.5 trillion drams, comes from loans taken out by the people, and around 2.4 trillion drams from loans taken by the government. Unfortunately, there are no qualitative changes in our economy,” he stated.

Karapetyan also addressed agriculture, noting that a decline has been recorded in the sector in the first half of 2026.

“There is a need for a radical change in the economic model. With this model, we are headed for a day like Lebanon's,” he declared.

According to him, the current economic activity in Armenia is supported by high copper prices and financial flows generated by the Russian-Ukrainian war, but these are temporary factors.