Armenia’s economy may face serious problems, opposition MP Narek Karapetyan said on September 9 at a meeting of the Armenian National Assembly’s standing committee on financial-credit and budgetary affairs.
According to Karapetyan, the country’s exports declined in the first half of 2026, while imports increased. Against that backdrop, he said, Armenia’s trade balance worsened by 20% compared with the same period last year.
He also spoke of capital outflow. In the first six months of the current year, he said, $2.6 billion more was taken out of the country than brought in. In his view, this shows that the country is spending more than it is receiving.
The head of the opposition Strong Armenia faction named three main challenges: worsening relations with one of Armenia’s key partners, Russia, the continued decline in exports, and the expected increase in gas prices. He argued that the situation calls for a fast-tracked program to develop domestic industry and help curb the fall in exports.
“We will face problems in the very near future: Russia will stop buying Armenian goods, and there is also a risk that the gas price will be revised,” Narek Karapetyan said.
