Armenia’s Minister of Economy Artsvik Minasyan today visited the Meridian Free Economic Zone and the leading diamond-cutting companies of Nor Hatchn. According to the Minister, jewelry making and diamond-cutting are two of the major branches of Armenian economy. Four organizations already have authorization to carry out their activities in the free economic zone.

According to Artsvik Minasyan, in 2015, nearly 900 kg of jewels were produced. Although this isn’t a large number, there is hope that production will grow. There is great potential in the diamond-cutting sector. The government also has expectations from the clock making industry. The companies working in the free economic zone discussed several issues with the Minister.

“Two major issues were mainly raised in relation to the free economic zone. The first was related to the anti-propaganda of the free economic zone which we consider an issue for us. We also discussed several organizational issues related to the length of certain periods for authorizations. We believe 35-40 days is enough time for a producer to appeal to obtain that authorization,” writes armradio.am.