Narek Karapetyan calls for balanced regional development to spur economic growth

Armenia needs balanced regional development to achieve dynamic economic growth, Narek Karapetyan, a senior member of the Strong Armenia party, said in a televised interview on Tuesday.

“Armenia’s economic strategy is not focused on generating employment in the regions,” he said. “Instead, it revolves around tax collection, relying heavily on Yerevan’s economic activity, revenues from a limited number of mines and external borrowing to maintain overall stability.”

Karapetyan argued that Armenia’s current model leaves significant economic potential in the regions untapped.

He stressed that truly dynamic development requires balanced growth across all regions. In the past, he noted Armenia’s regions had distinct sectoral specializations and a modern development strategy should revive and adapt that approach by tailoring economic models to each region’s strengths.

“For example, Noyemberyan could be developed into a greenhouse and vegetable-growing hub,” Karapetyan said. “This would not only create jobs locally but also boost vegetable exports and help meet domestic demand.”