YEREVAN, October 19. /TASS/. Russia plans to invest $1 billion in the Armenian economy in the near future, Deputy Economic Development Minister Dmitry Volvach said at a briefing on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 8th Armenian-Russian Interregional Forum.

"Our mutual trade is recovering quite well — a 17% growth in 2021. This is despite the fact that it fell by almost 4% in the pandemic year. Our investment cooperation is growing: there are more than $2.2 billion of jointly accumulated investments from Russia to Armenia. We know that there are specific projects to the tune of more than $1 bln, which will soon go to the Armenian economy," he said.

According to Volvach, the investments will become a significant contribution to the development of economic, social, and cultural relations between Russia and Armenia. In particular, they will contribute to the creation of new high-tech jobs and facilitate exchange in various areas of the economy, culture, and infrastructure development.

"According to statistics, currently, Russian investments account for 40% of foreign investments in the Republic of Armenia. It seems to me that it is quite logical at least to maintain this share. It is clear that there are investments from other countries, from other partners, but I hope that Russia and Russian business will retain their role and significance in the Armenian economy," he added.

In turn, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov confirmed that in the coming years, Russian companies are ready to invest about $1 billion in the Armenian economy. "Our trade turnover has already exceeded the pre-covid indicators, and Russian companies are among the largest taxpayers in Armenia," he added.

The forum is sponsored by Russia’s Economic Development Ministry and Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia. Russian-Armenian interregional forums have been held since 2011 to expand cooperation between the regions of the two states.