One of Strong Armenia party`s key objectives creation of 300,000 new  jobs 

ArmInfo.One of the "Strong Armenia" party's key objectives, if successful in the June 7 parliamentary elections, will be the creation of 300,000 new jobs. Narek Karapetyan, a member of the party's board, stated this in an  interview with Armenia TV.

According to him, the country has a population of 3 million, of which  800,000 are officially registered.  Taking into account an additional  500,000 pensioners and 400,000 children and students, it follows that  1.2 million citizens are unemployed but want to work. Of this number,  approximately 300,000 are seasonal workers, especially during the  summer. "Strong Armenia" has proposed creating an additional 300,000  jobs within five years if it comes to power, but these will be in  industry, construction, and information technology, which will lead  to a revitalization of the economy and take the country to a whole  new level.  Additional jobs will primarily be created in areas with  high poverty rates.

Narek Karapetyan pointed specifically to the Martuni district, home  to 90,000 people but virtually no businesses. Even in Yerevan itself,  there are jobs with a salary of 120,000 drams. At the same time,  property and other taxes have increased significantly in the capital,  making Yerevan expensive to live in.  For this reason, people are  forced to seek higher-paying jobs to address essential needs. At the  same time, there are large population centers in the country's  regions where unemployment is widespread. As a result, people are  leaving for work abroad, as the employment situation has remained  unresolved for many years.  "Our economy isn't built on the idea of  creating businesses in the regions; it's based solely on collecting  taxes from Yerevan and some mines, along with the growing national  debt," noted a member of the board of the Strong Armenia party.

Narek Karapetyan noted that the country's regions were once divided  by industry specialization. The party intends to develop economic  development models for each individual region. For example,  Noyemberyan would become a separate greenhouse fruit and vegetable  production zone, purchasing gas at a lower price, making the produced  goods competitive on foreign markets. There are also plans to build  an oil refinery in Vanadzor, which would allow for the production of  cheaper gasoline locally, rather than relying on the whims of  Azerbaijan. Oil would be purchased from Iran and refined at the  Vanadzor refinery, leading to local employment, increased tax  revenues, and economic activity. Development programs would also be  implemented in Meghri and other regions of the country.

Narek Karapetyan also noted the need to build local procurement  stations. As an example, he cited the situation in Alaverdi, where a  record corn harvest was produced, but farmers faced problems selling  it.  Noyemberyan, in turn, produces olives, but there are also  marketing issues. To address these and other issues, the goal is to  establish procurement stations.