We are in Meghri. Meghri is Armenia’s southernmost region, and it doesn’t have the problems typical of other regions, such as unemployment and economic difficulties. Bordering a country like Persia, Meghri will play a very important economic role in Armenia’s future. This was stated by Narek Karapetyan, coordinator of the “Our Way” movement.
He noted, in particular: “This region will always be rich, it will always develop, and our problem here is not so much unemployment as labor force. We also propose creating special housing and investment programs here so that the state can support the relocation of people from areas with high unemployment to the Meghri region.
This will solve two problems: security, so that the region will be more populated and many Armenians will live here, and the second is economic, since there is a great need for labor in a rapidly developing region.
We would like to share our proposals for Meghri. The first is an energy barter program, under which Armenia will import gas. Thermal power plants using Man technology will be built in Meghri, with an investment of up to $300 million. By processing the gas, we will be able to resell it for electricity to Iran.
Armenia is already working on this, but since the capacity of the overhead lines is limited, we propose doing it in Meghri. “So that we don’t have problems with either the gas pipeline or the overhead lines,” he said.
According to Narek Karapetyan, the second is an important logistics program connecting north and south, leading from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea. “As a result, we will be able to very quickly deliver cargo from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea basins.”
Armenia imports approximately 4,000-5,000 tons of tropical kiwis and 4,000-5,000 tons of lemons annually. Moreover, surprisingly, Armenia imports 4,000 tons of pomegranates. We propose creating a master plan for agricultural development, offering farmers financing on very favorable terms so they can plant more orchards and solve the water problem in Meghri, and building a reservoir for water flowing from the mountains, which will also solve the crop yield issue.
This development plan for Meghri will please our compatriots in Meghri, and finally, my mother-in-law will allow me to return to Yerevan,” he said.