The key to attracting capital is predictability and clear legislative regulations. And in this regard, there are problems in Armenia not only in the mining sector, but also, for example, in issuing construction permits. Chair of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia and MP from the ruling "Civil Contract" Faction of the NA, Babken Tunyan, on Saturday stated this during the Mining Armenia Forum 2026 in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia.
Tunyan noted that the legislation should be more flexible, emphasizing the need to avoid extremes. According to the lawmaker, the veto right of local communities during public hearings often leads to strict and categorical restrictions, while this opinion should be advisory and not be a mandatory ban.
Tunyan said that experience shows that community residents may be influenced by misinformation, or other factors may influence them, which ultimately jeopardizes the planned multi-million dollar investments.
“This is an unacceptable extravagance for our country,” added the MP.
According to his observation, greater flexibility should be shown towards geological exploration, since first of all it is necessary to find out what is under the surface of a given area, present the results to the public, and only then decide on future directions of development: tourism, agriculture, mining, or all of these together.
“But when the process is suspended without having clear information, it does not lead to anything good,” concluded Tunyan.
The co-organizers of Mining Armenia Forum 2026 are the Mining Forum Development Foundation and the Armenian Mining and Metallurgy Association. The strategic sponsors of the forum, which is being held for the third time, are the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine and the Lydian Armenia company, and the main sponsors are Ameriabank and Teghout CJSC.