OREANDA-NEWS. December 27, 2010. On the occasion of New Year and Christmas, President Serzh Sargsyan today held a reception in the Presidential Palace with the participation of the representatives of Armenia’s business circles. The President of Armenia congratulated the entrepreneurs with the holidays and wished them success.

In his welcoming remarks President Sargsyan said,

“Distinguished entrepreneurs,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wish you a Happy New Year and a Joyous Christmas.

Year 2010 was a year of hard work aimed at the mitigation of the repercussions of the global financial and economic crisis. When I say “work”, I mean collective works of our government and our entrepreneurs. It is encouraging that in those difficult conditions we have been able to stabilize the situation and provide for a certain economic growth.

The crisis has dealt an incredibly heavy blow on the world economy; it has been manifested first of all in a drastic decline of economic growth and drop of employment. The high level of unemployment has become a real disaster for the countries and the governments. Though the crisis has subsided and steady recovery has already begun, the post-crisis model of the global economy has not taken shape yet.

It is true that the world is recovering from the heaviest blow of the 21st century. Our country managed to go through the first, most perilous wave of the global financial and economic crisis without significant shocks. However, the second wave of the crisis shook our economy: decline was registered in almost every area, financial flows and investments reduced substantially, and exports ceased to nourish our economy. In those difficult days, when in some European countries teachers, doctors, firemen and even judges took to the streets by the threat of a drastic drop of their welfare, our country, our society, the business community and different branches of the power together were able to maintain the pre-crisis social conditions.

The crisis made us more watchful, but also more daring; made us along with caring for daily bread at some points develop and undertake the greatest strategic plans in the history of newly independent Armenia. The crisis made us reassess our old and reliable partners and vigorously look for new ones; made us struggle every day for saving our local businesses and at the same time strain every muscle to pay all budget wages and allowances in full and in timely fashion. It also made us weather the economic “winter” and at the same time devise “spring” projects.

When we finally overcome the consequences of the crisis, we will be much stronger and armed with the understanding that the Armenian economy as a whole and all its parts must undergo serious changes.

Leaving the tenth wave behind us, we can state with confidence that we have been able in nineteen years to form a state with a sufficient amount of flexibility and a stable financial and economic system. Lessons of the crisis will allow us to avoid in the future challenges which brought to knees the economies of much more prosperous and affluent countries.

The global financial crisis has already changed and will continue to change the world’s economic model. The world will never be the one it was before the crisis. We can not live and work as we did before fall 2008. Life will not allow it. However it doesn’t mean that we will be living worse than before, no. We simply should think and act differently. I think we will have opportunities to discuss it in detail.

Dear entrepreneurs,
At the time of common danger we were able to unite to face difficulties. The work style, which envisages close cooperation with the government, will be maintained in 2011 too. We all realize that we have to work hard in the coming year. It should be a year of total recovery, enhancement of diversification tendencies in our economy, a year of new and creative steps dictated by a new reality. I wish you success in 2011. Your success in your own area is eventually our common success, success of our economy.

I congratulate you once again and wish you festive mood. To your families I wish health, happiness, affection, and well-being. With God’s blessing let them always be at your side in making your business stronger, which means making our country stronger. Thank you and once again I congratulate you, your families and friends".