Emigres Called Key to Armenia’s Future

Armenia is still beset by economic and political woes five years after its independence from the former Soviet Union, but it is on track pursuing democracy and economic success at the same time, Prime Minister Armen Sarkissian said during a Los Angeles visit Saturday.

His nation of 3.5 million people can achieve the dual goal within 10 years, he predicted, because of its highly educated citizenry, political will and ties to overseas Armenians.

The strategic location of Armenia and its long exposure to Western ideas, Sarkissian said, helped make his nation more receptive to democracy than such countries as South Korea and Taiwan, which despite their vibrant economies clung to authoritarian governments for decades until recently.

Sarkissian, a physicist-turned-diplomat, was appointed by Armenian President Levon A. Ter-Petrosyan two months ago.

Since his arrival in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, he has met with leaders of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and high-level U.S. officials.

Sarkissian flew into Los Angeles for a day of meetings with business leaders and the local Armenian community, the largest in the United States. He is scheduled to leave for Armenia Thursday.

The 43-year-old official, who taught theoretical physics in Armenia and England before joining the government, said Armenian Americans have an important role in the future of his country.

“They are a bridge to further improving the relations between the United States and Armenia,” he said.

Their potential contributions to Armenia’s culture and economy are immeasurable, he said.

Of the 1 million people of Armenian ancestry in the United States, one-third live in the Los Angeles area.

Sarkissian said seven years of war with Azerbaijan over the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh enclave and an energy blockade by Armenia’s pro-Azerbaijani neighbors took their toll.

But a cease-fire 30 months ago helped stabilize the economy, and the government is making aggressive efforts to privatize its economy and attract investors.

In response to criticism that the Armenian government is authoritarian, Sarkissian said it is not a “Jeffersonian democracy,” but a democracy in the making.

Opposition leader Paruyr Hayrikyan, who was in the audience when Sarkissian met with Armenian American reporters at the Regency Beverly Wilshire Hotel, credited Sarkissian with reaching out to opposition party members.

“He is an unusual man,” Hayrikyan said, adding that he and Sarkissian agree on many issues.