Armenian businessmen told about Argentina’s investment capacity

YEREVAN, October 19. /ARKA/. The Armenian-Argentine Trade and Economic Forum, organized by Armenian Commerce and Industry Chamber and Argentina’s Embassy in Armenia, was launched Friday in Yerevan. 

Argentine Ambassador to Armenia Diego Ernesto Alvarez Rivera, speaking at the forum, presented Economic situation in Argentina and the country’s investment capacity to Armenian businessmen. 

He said that his country’s GDP grew 8.9% in 2011 mainly thanks to 9.1% growth in services sector. Trade in commodities showed 7.4% growth. 

The ambassador also said that unemployment rate in Argentina stood at 6.7% of the economically active population, and year-on-year consumer price index in the country grew 10.9% in 2011. 

The country’s exports grew 24% in 2011, compared with the previous year, to more than $84 billion, and imports grew 31% to more than $73 billion. 

Rivera said that GDP growth is thought to slow down by 4.4% in 2012 and by 4% in 2013 because of the financial and economic crisis. 

Armenian Commerce and Industry Chamber President Martin Sargsyan, who spoke at the forum as well, said that the aim of this forum is to present Argentina’s economy and investment capacity to Armenian entrepreneurs to enable them to single out those groups of Armenian goods which can be competitive in the Argentine market. 

“Trade and economic relations with Argentina started developing in the first year of Armenia’s independence, and the most successful entrepreneur was Eduardo Eurnekian,” he said. “Unfortunately, relations between the two countries are developing disproportionately – Argentina’s investments in Armenia’s economy total $200 million, but things are different on the Armenian side.”

According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, investments from Argentina grew 26.4% in Jan-June 2012, compared with the same period a year earlier, to more than 7.3 million less loans extended by state-governing institutions and the banking sector.-0-