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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the inaugural Armenia-United Kingdom Business Forum in Yerevan.
The Prime Minister delivered a speech and welcomed the participants, emphasizing that holding the forum is logical after the signing of the memorandum on establishing a strategic partnership between Armenia and the United Kingdom in May this year.
“After establishing such a partnership, the primary question that arises for governments is the following: how to turn that political will, which is expressed through adopted documents or a document, into reality. And the most effective way to solve this problem is to make the political content discussed between governments part of everyday life. And such forums serve precisely that purpose—to fill the space opened by governments with real life.”
Speaking about the economy and business, Prime Minister Pashinyan noted that experience shows that people who are not constrained by a certain set of government or other official responsibilities are better able to see opportunities and prospects. In this context, the PM expressed hope that the ideas raised during the forum’s discussions will move into the next stage of development and become concrete agreements.
“Overall, it is obvious that the Republic of Armenia and our region are in a phase of transformation, which is connected with the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the developments stemming from it. We are now working on a daily basis to launch the implementation of the TRIPP project on the ground, which will undoubtedly and unequivocally be a cornerstone in changing not only the economic environment of the Republic of Armenia, but also that of the entire region. It already is, because even today we are feeling a certain increase in investment attractiveness around Armenia, and it is clear that this project, in turn, will bring new projects, and investment gravity will strengthen around Armenia and our region,” the Prime Minister said, adding that in the near future, alongside developments in the TRIPP project, the Armenia-Türkiye border is expected to open, and accordingly, railway connections between Armenia and Azerbaijan and between Armenia and Türkiye are also expected to open.
Pashinyan also referred to establishing a railway connection between the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea, implementing the North-South Road project, and opening east-west roads along the same route parallel to the railway. “What I am describing is precisely what the Government of the Republic of Armenia has approved within the framework of the Crossroads of Peace project. Alongside all these communications, possibilities for constructing oil and gas pipelines are already being considered and discussed, and we are also holding concrete discussions on electricity transmission lines.”
According to Pashinyan, all this means that Armenia and the United Kingdom are becoming closer to each other in terms of transportation, and this is the right time to discuss what opportunities exist that can be utilized. Nikol Pashinyan noted that any economic development brings new economic development with it. “The most successful are those countries whose economic growth is continuous and consistent. Over the previous five years, we had planned to ensure average economic growth of 7% in the Republic of Armenia, and in fact we achieved average economic growth of 7.9%. In other words, each 7.9% has already been added to the previous year’s 7.9%. Overall, in 2025, the gross domestic product of the Republic of Armenia increased by around 53% compared to 2018, also taking into account the global downturn during the COVID years. Over the next five years, we have planned to ensure average annual economic growth of 6%. We also have a number of strategic directions. I mentioned one of those strategic directions—the opening of regional communications—but I also want to draw attention to the developments taking place in Armenia in the renewable energy sector. In particular, over the next five years, we plan not only to maintain the pace of renewable energy development, but also to make renewable energy institutionally more reliable for our economy and state,” the PM said.
The Prime Minister noted that the Crossroads of Peace is the Government of the Republic of Armenia’s strategic vision for the country.
In the context of growing business interest in Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the importance of increasing tourist flows to Armenia.
According to Nikol Pashinyan, enormous developments have also been recorded in the field of artificial intelligence over the past year.
Concluding his speech, the Prime Minister expressed hope that the results of the forum will be reflected in the economy in the near future and create opportunities to celebrate these successes.
The Armenia-United Kingdom Business Forum 2026 is organized by the Oxford Alumni Business Club of Armenia (OABCA), in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Armenia, Enterprise Armenia and the British-Armenian Chamber of Commerce (BACC). The forum brings together around 2,000 participants, including representatives of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the Central Bank, international financial and development institutions, the British diplomatic mission, leading companies, and educational and scientific institutions. The forum discusses access to capital, attracting investment and opportunities to enter new markets. Particular attention is paid to practical mechanisms for investment and international financing in Armenia.