Yerevan, July 26 /Mediamax/. By the end 2006, the volume of industrial production in Armenia will grow by 5 %, the Minister of Trade and Economic Development of Armenia, Karen Chshmaritian, said at a press conference in Yerevan today.

During January-June, the industrial production volume stood at 300.7bln AMD, having decreased by 1% as compared to the first half of 2005. The Minister stated that the positive forecasts for the end of the year are conditioned by the plans of some big enterprises. Thus, “RusAl” plans to produce 3000 tons of foil by the end of this year, and “Nairit” chemical enterprise - 8000 tons of caoutchouc.

According to Karen Chshmaritian, in 2007 a more serious growth of production is expected in Armenia and this, in its turn, will influence the growth of the industry in GDP volume.

The Minister said that introduction of an innovation development system is a “task number one” for Armenia. He noted that a number of draft laws have already been worked out, which will allow to more effectively use the innovation system. According to Chshmaritian, small and medium enterprises should play a key role, and the state should only facilitate the introduction of innovation schemes.