GLENDALE—The Select Armenia business forum — organized by the Armenian-American Business Council, Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles and Business Armenia — brought together more than 100 representatives of local government, business and academia at Glendale’s Embassy Suites Hotel on June 30 to discuss new business and investment opportunities in post-Velvet Revolution Armenia.
Deputy Prime Minister of the newly formed Armenian government, Tigran Avinyan, and members of the Armenian delegation were present.
Avinyan, as well as Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Investments Mane Adamyan, Deputy Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technology Hakob Arshakyan, Deputy Minister of Diaspora Babken Der Grigoryan and International Commerce Team Leader of Business Armenia Narek Aleksanyan spoke to Select Armenia participants. Topics discussed included: existing projects and opportunities available in Armenia, the new government’s strategies regarding business and investments and answering participants’ questions.
The areas of interest included, but were not limited to, healthcare, technology and innovation, engineering, finance, education, tourism and construction. Participants also heard specific success stories, legislative changes and initiatives that will lead to a more investment-friendly business environment which would attract small businesses and multinational companies to Armenia.
The Select Armenia business forum significantly contributed to achieving the Armenian delegation’s main objectives for their California visit. The delegation wished to achieve a greater understanding of the U.S. market’s constraints and opportunities, an increased awareness of Armenia’s investment potential for U.S. companies, and a strengthening of relationships between Armenian and American institutions and individuals.
Also present during the conference were Vahe Karapetian, advisory board member to the Armenian American Business Council, and Vahe Balayan, the CEO of Ameriagroup, the event’s sponsor.
“I am sure that the visit of the new Deputy Prime Minister of the government of Armenia and the honest and candid exchange of ideas during this one-day conference will result in a greater enthusiasm toward large-scale business projects between Armenian and U.S. businesses,” Armenian American Business Council President Alec Baghdasaryan said. “The situation in Armenia has changed dramatically, leading to a better business and investment-friendly environment, and further promoting Armenia as an ideal investment destination with its highly skilled and multilingual workforce and world-class financial institutions.”
