Armenia’s Prime Minister commends agriculture for tangible progress

YEREVAN, October 19. / ARKA /. Armenia’s Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian commended today the country’s agricultural sector for making tangible progress when speaking at the opening ceremony of the international ArmFood EXPO 2012 in Yerevan. The 11th exhibition will run through October 21. 

"The agriculture appears to be the main driving force behind the economic growth and we are seeing tangible progress made by this sector. Our task is to keep this pace for the next few years," he said.

Sarkisian said ArmFood EXPO 2012 is a convenient platform for Armenian entrepreneurs not only to showcase their products, but also to see the products of competing companies and establish new contacts with peers. The Prime Minister noted with satisfaction the annual increase in the number of participants.

Agriculture minister Sergo Karapetyan stressed the importance of the fair in terms of strengthening links between the public and private sectors.

"This is a perfect platform for an effective dialogue between the public and private sectors, based on the political approach of the government to create a favorable business environment,» he said.

The exhibition organizers are the Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Armenia and LOGOS EXPO Center. This year the event has brought together more than 45 companies, associations, unions and companies, including small and medium businesses. The exhibition showcases dairy and fat products, alcoholic beverages, canned fruits, juices, tobacco and confectionery.

A forum on agricultural processing industry will be held on October 20 on the sidelines of the event, which will be moderated by Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan.Armenia’s agriculture expanded in the first half of the year by 24.3 percent year-on-year to 203.5 billion drams. -0-