2024-07-26 17:34:16
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the reception organized on the occasion of the New Year and Christmas holidays at the Central Bank. Nikol Pashinyan congratulated the employees of the Central Bank and the banking system of Armenia on the upcoming holidays, wished success and all the best.
In his speech, the Prime Minister, in particular, noted:
“Dear Chairman of the Central Bank, respected representatives of the executive power, the banking system. our economy has survived very hard times, I hope we can already say so, because the coronavirus pandemic hit us in 2020, which was a strong blow to the financial and economic system, after which came the second blow, in the form of a war, and then came the third blow, the internal political crisis. It should be noted that during this entire period, the RA banking system, which had been able to withstand serious tests before, also successfully passed this test, and this is extremely important not only for economic, but also for political and psychological stability.
I think in this respect we should express our appreciation to the banking system of Armenia, the Central Bank, for the policy pursued in these difficult times. After all, after the war and the coronavirus, it was necessary to have a great resource of resistance, serious professionalism, in order to be able to maintain the stable situation that we have. Especially, taking into account the next challenge that came after the spread of the coronavirus, the global challenge – inflation, which continues to unfold in the world today.
Unlike the banking systems of other countries, our banking system essentially went through a double, triple whammy. It is important to record that the banking system is not only a very important partner for the government, but also an indicator, because modern economies and especially the banking system express sentiments, and in many cases this is the guideline for the government to develop and implement policies.
I think the dialogue that exists between the government and the CBI is very important in terms of developing and implementing our future strategies. Yes, it is also necessary to accept and admit that, as in many countries, in Armenia, in many cases, an attempt is made to create certain negative sentiments around the banking system, because it is clear that people always enjoy taking money, but returning it is not always a pleasant process. , even more so due to interest.
Recently, I had the opportunity to say during a discussion, it was about banking systems. In essence, the modern world is a world created by banks, and this should be recorded with all its advantages and disadvantages. There are many projects characterizing modern civilization, which are growing, developing, changing the world by huge steps. It should be noted that these mega-projects could not exist in the world if the banking system did not exist.
We have seen such effects in Armenia as well, but I hope that we will be able to implement such an agenda of cooperation in political, economic and financial systems, which will allow us to make Armenia a country that meets all modern standards. In this regard, I emphasize the agenda adopted by the government to open an era of peaceful development for Armenia and the region, which, I must say, is adjusted by signals from the economy and the banking system, which are often not expressed as texts, but expressed as numbers, digital signs, statistical data. In this context, I want to hope that the connection of our policies conducted by the government with the financial and economic system will be more organic, because that system is the most sensitive indicator that feels the risks the earliest and sees the opportunities the earliest, which helps the government to be more operative.
I want to thank you again for your resilience over the past two years. I hope that we at the general state and national level will eventually be able to overcome this situation of survival, delay, or short-term thinking and enter the era of long-term, stable and peaceful strategic development. In this regard, of course, the role of the banking system is extremely difficult to overestimate. I repeat: the Central Bank, the banking system are essential and key partners for the government.
Also, in terms of overcoming the problems of the coronavirus pandemic, the post-war situation, we have been in a very close partnership and cooperation, and I highly value that partnership.
I congratulate all of you and your families on the upcoming New Year and we hope that in 2022 it will really be possible to form completely new moods in Armenia and Artsakh, which will be seen in the form of a decrease in interest rates, stability of prices, exchange rates and more expanded moods to invest, work, and spend. The government, of course, is willing to spend, invest and demonstrate this strategic perspective as much as possible by its own example. But all the same, the private sector, the banking system are very important teammates in this regard, so that this team game and process works for all of us.”