Armenia, absent from Davos Forum

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Davos, the world’s most prestigious economic meeting that brings together annually the planet’s top brains in politics, economics and journalism kicked off this year minus one country: Armenia. The 2015 edition of the annual Economic Forum began on January 21 where Armenia will not have a seat at this 45^th global forum.

Davos traditionally draws participants such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, billionaire economist Warren Buffet, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as well US and European heads of states and governments. Davos Forum will host about 2,500 representatives from the world's 150 countries this year.

Why there will be no delegation from Armenia this year amid the high fliers of the business and finance world? Is it because of lack of official invitation from the forum organizers or are there other reasons behind Armenia's absence? The Armenian authorities avoided to officially respond, said Lragir.am, a local media outlet in Armenia.

Vaahn Khachartyan, an Armenian economist, believes that Armenia doesn't attend the forum, just because the government has nothing to address.

"The people, who have something to say and who want to listen to others, visit Davos to join the forum. But, Armenia has nothing to say and is reluctant to listen. That's why our country has not been represented at the event for several years in a row. Moreover, Davos is a field for new contacts, new investment opportunities. It seems that the Armenian government is unaware of it," Khachartyan said.

Davos is not only a platform for talks over economic issues, but also a venue for political and economic elite of the world," said Khachatryan, adding that it seems that Armenia has nothing to contribute or to gain.

Hayk Gevogryan, an economic columnist, said Armenia's participation at the Davos forum would be an insignificant waste of money.

"The experience shows that participation at the global business event will not affect Armenia's economy," he added.

He also noted that going to Davos is not an option to attract investments, while Armenia needs to create a free market atmosphere to achieve this goal.

Vahid Ahmadov, Member of the Azerbaijani Parliament's Economic Commission, said Armenia's current economic condition prevented it from attending the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

"As a colony of Russia, Armenia has nothing to say at the business forum. Even the country's president has nothing to say. Compared to regional neighbors, it has no chance to put its impact on the international processes. Economy of the country is under severe circumstances, while it is considerably controlled by the Russian oligarchs. The ruble's ongoing crisis, in fact, tells a lot about the existing situation in Armenia today," Ahmadov noted.

Focusing on global politics, economics, and social issues will be the key topics to be discussed by the international business and political leaders at the 2015 World Economic Forum annual meeting.

This year’s forum is expected to attract a record number of participants.