Armenian opposition politician criticizes export decline to France, pledges anti-poverty fund

The opposition Strong Armenia party, which is running in the June parliamentary elections, has accused the government of failing to diversify exports and pledged sweeping social measures if elected.

Party council member Narek Karapetyan told reporters at the ANITEX textile factory on Friday that exports to France have dropped 20% over the past eight years, while Russia continues to dominate Armenia’s trade flows. “Russia buys 400 times more Armenian goods than France. The authorities cannot organize exports or support production. Armenia should be a seller, not a buyer,” he said.

Karapetyan hailed the textile plant as a model of industrialization, noting that its output now meets 50–60% of domestic demand that was previously covered by imports from Turkey. “This shows we have the experience to build hundreds of such enterprises in Armenia,” he added.

He announced that Strong Armenia, led by businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, will establish a poverty alleviation foundation. The fund, he said, would be financed by the state and international partners, and provide monthly stipends of 150,000 drams to extremely poor families of five. “We want families to escape the poverty trap,” Karapetyan said.

Turning to political issues, he questioned whether recent arrests of women, clergy, and other citizens had brought Armenia closer to European standards. “The government speaks beautifully but acts poorly,” he remarked.