YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. One of the guarantees on ensuring long-term and high rates of economic growth in Armenia is the increase of flow of foreign direct investments, Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan told reporters on December 28, reports “Armenpress”.

“We have talked many times that the investments volume is very low in our country. The foreign direct investments are only 1% of our GDP. We have defined a short-term target for us in order to reach the FDI volume up to 5% in Armenia’s GDP”, the Minister said, presenting the steps that the Government is going to take for reaching that figure.

“One of the first steps is to provide all investors with favorable conditions taking into account the Armenian market’s features of being small. Secondly, we must improve the business and investment environment, simplify, clarify and make it competitive. A number of works were carried out on this path. The Government has already adopted more than 50 judicial acts on this direction. And the next step, which is very important, is the establishment of foreign investments protection institute”, the Minister said, and informed that new draft law on “Foreign investments” is already ready which will make the opportunities on solving disputes for foreign investors more practical.

“We will establish this institute based on the best international experience in order the foreign investors to be confident that no discrimination will be applied to them while conducting their activities in Armenia and they will have a chance for alternative solutions of disputes”, the Minister said.

Suren Karayan informed that already 160 investment programs are collected from which 110 were presented by the provinces and it is expected to conduct investment projects worth 240 million USD. “Some of those investment projects have already been discussed by the Ministry and were brought to a formula that will be available for potential investors”, he said.

Minister Karayan stated that 8 new production projects will launch by the state assistance in 2017, and 3 billion AMD investment will be needed for the implementation of those projects, as well as 900 new jobs will be opened.