Russian expert:

In the last years the practice of ranking has evolved into a kind of fetish, a thing in itself, and now that the world economy is deteriorating it is no longer worthy of credit. Today high ranks are often given to things that turn into nothing tomorrow and the word of honor has become a commodity, something you can buy, Sergey Grinyaev, Director General of the Russian Center of Strategic Assessment and Forecasts, said in an interview to ArmInfo.

To remind, Forbes has ranked Armenia as the world's second worst economy among Madagascar, Guinea, Ukraine and Jamaica.

"The economic situation in Armenia is actually complicated. The major problems that emerged some two-three years ago are still dominant. One of the major factors preventing economic stability in Armenia is the heavy dependence of the budget revenues on the earnings of the Armenians working outside the country," Grinyaev said.

He said that geo-politics also have a big influence on the Armenian economy. Quite active a few years ago Armenian-Iranian economic relations are slowing down, with no stir observed under the projects to be expectedly stirred by improving relations with Turkey.

"It is a hard job to develop economic ties. It may take you years to attain economic efficiency but just one day to lose it. Russia has gone through it in its relations with Belarus. So, foreign and internal political stability and clear vision of development targets are really crucial for the improvement of the Armenian economy," Grinyaev said.

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Situation in South Yemen strains relations between Saudi Arabia and UAE

Situation in South Yemen strains relations between Saudi Arabia and UAE

The relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are increasingly strained as a result of the different approach of the two countries towards Yemen. Whilst both countries were initially together in resisting the Houthi take over in Yemen, the UAE subsequently focused on the South of the country, backing the Southern Movement (STC), which seeks to restore the independence of South Yemen. South Yemen became an independent country in 1967, at the end of British rule, and only unified with the north in 1990. The Saudi-led “Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen” on Tuesday, 30 December, said it conducted a “limited” airstrike targeting two ships “that smuggled weapons and other military hardware into Mukalla in southern Yemen”. The ships originated in the UAE port of Furjeirah. In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Coalition Forces spokesman, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, said that two ships coming from the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates entered the Port of Mukalla in Hadramaut without obtaining official permits from the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition. He stressed the Coalition's "continued commitment to de-escalation and enforcing calm in the governorates of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra, and to prevent any military support from any country to any Yemeni faction without coordination with the legitimate Yemeni government and the Coalition. The Southern Transitional Council (STC), launched a sweeping military campaign early in December, seizing the governorates of Hadramaut along the Saudi border and the eastern governorate of Al-Mahra in Yemen’s border with Oman. The UAE-backed STC forces captured the city of Seiyun, including its international airport and the presidential palace. They also took control of the strategic PetroMasila oilfields, which account for a massive portion of Yemen’s remaining oil wealth. (click the image to read the article in full).

Popular