Presidential candidate: inner fears hinder Armenians from moving forward

YEREVAN, March 2. /ARKA/. Armenia should have a high-tech-based economy; there is no other alternative, Armenian presidential candidate Vahagn Khachatryan said Wednesday in parliament.

He said that after the collapse of the USSR, Armenia lost its accumulated technological and human potential, and now it is necessary to restore it.

At the same time, Khachatryan stated that Armenia should look for alternatives. He explained that by this he means the expansion of regional cooperation, the opening of roads and a way out of the economic blockade. In his words, inner fears of the Armenians hinder this process.

“We must get rid of our inner fears. We wake up every morning with these fears. Historically, we understand why this happens, but the time has come to be guided by other principles,” Khachatryan said.

Vahagn Khachatryan, 63, who is High-Tech Industry Minister now, was nominated by the ruling Civil Contract party of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has

Khachatryan is the only candidate. The opposition Hayastan (Armenia) and Pativ Unem (I Have Honor) alliances in the Armenian National Assembly refused to nominate candidates saying they will boycott the election.

If elected by parliament Vahagn Khachatryan will replace President Armen Sarkissian, who announced his resignation on January 23 citing lack of tools to influence the country’s foreign and domestic policies.

Under a package of constitutional reforms, endorsed in a national referendum in 2015, Armenia changed the governance system of the country from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic in 2018 April.

The president of Armenia, whose powers are significantly curtailed, is elected for a term of seven years by the parliament. Presidents are limited to one term of office. -0-