Peter Kralich is a member of the Mckinsey & Co project
coordination staff, which is part of the “Armenia 2020” project and at
the present he is considered chief coordinator for projects which are
aimed towards rise in economy and employment in Germany and Brazil.
According to Peter Kralich, Armenia must develop through the efforts
put in by the government and the people. The country must not “sell its
businesses to other countries.”
“By doing that, Armenia will lose its right to make decisions on its
own,” says Peter Kralich. In response to our question as to what can be
done now after a majority of Armenian businesses have been sold to
foreign countries, Peter Kralich said: “It doesn’t matter if the
government interferes in the business or if it is non-profit, the final
decision should be made by the people, in other words, Armenians should
be the ones making decisions for themselves. This is what economic
management is all about. Foreigners can also get involved, but in that
case it is very important for Armenia to make sure that control stays
in the country’s hands.” Both the speakers at the conference, as well
as Doctor Kralich emphasized the key role that the Armenian authorities
play in implementing the “Armenia 2020” project. “If there is no aid
shown by the Armenian authorities, how do you plan on implementing the
project?” In response to this question, Mr. Kralich said: “I really
don’t know how the project will be carried out, but one thing is for
sure: the government plays a key role in any case. Implementation is
possible through the legislative branch or some other method. The
government can not make the country develop right away, but rather, it
can help in creating a normal environment for work to be done. It can
do that through the necessary means. I know about the corruption in the
country, but what I don’t know is what level it stands at. Basically,
the government’s role is very important in overcoming some obstacles
that face the nation.”
Peter Kralich did not suggest anything for reducing corruption levels.
“That is a very complicated issue. By taking into consideration
Armenia’s standards, it is evident that an official working and living
in Armenia is prone to take bribes. One of the ways to eliminate this
is to raise the worker’s salary, but that is an extremely long
process.” We asked Mr. Kralich a question which strictly had to do with
Armenia’s economy. Could Armenia’s economy develop for 100 years
without opening the border with Turkey, as stated by Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanyan, and in what way does the enduring peace
settlement of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh reflect upon the
economy? “I think that development will be much more difficult in these
conditions. Let’s take for example Serbia. Serbia was also in a
blockade and it faced a major conflict as a result of that. The economy
suffered a lot. Basically, a blockade intervenes in the process of
setting down necessary conditions for investments and other forms of
development. By settling the conflict with Azerbaijan and by opening
the border with Turkey (although Turkey has not been cooperating with
Armenia recently) Armenian economy will rise. At the present, the
country is in a very difficult situation.”