Today Head of the Presidential Staff Vigen Sargsyan introduced the motives of Armenia’s Customs Union membership decision to the students and graduates of “Luys” Foundation.

Answering the question of one of “Luys” Foundation students Vigen Sargsyan said that the Customs Union is a market of 170 million consumers, which is easily accessible to us.

“And if tariff barriers are eliminated, it can really boost certain sectors of economy in Armenia. We think that in comparison with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and it is measured by international rating agencies, Armenia has better business climate and better opportunities for investors. We do think that those international companies which want to explore that market, can look to Armenia in terms of possibilities to start business here”, said the Head of the Presidential Staff.

According to Vigen Sargsyan, the economies of Customs Union’s member states are not at the level of advancement that will push our economy in terms of competitive market.

“It might create a tendency to lower standards of economic development.  But it depends on us. If we set a higher standard for us and continue to work with the EU not only in terms of reforms in political and judicial sectors but also in terms of economic models, we do think we can be very competitive to both Customs Union market, and European market”, he stressed.

Vigen Sargsyan also presented to the Armenian students studying at the leading universities in the world the considerations of Customs Union membership which are linked to Armenia’s security.

“For us, considering the blockade of Armenia and transportation difficulties was very important to have one competitive advantage in our production cycle, where transportation logistics and energy resources play an important role. And because we couldn’t really change something dramatically with transportation logistics, since border with Turkey is still blocked, it was very important to substitute it at least by cheap energy resources, and that what we did by joining Customs Union. Now we are importing gas and oil products at internal Russian market prices without customs duties. And part of that decision was linked with security arrangements that Armenia has within CSTO regarding Nagorno Karabakh conflict and threats from Turkish border”, said Vigen Sargsyan.