YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Under conditions of rapid economic development, it is impossible to avoid appreciation of the national currency, and as a small country Armenia has difficulty with managing the appreciation of the dram, Shigeo Katsu, WB Regional Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, expressed this opinion on December 14. According to him, there are several measures (including increasing the competition and making the economy more transparent) for dealing with the difficult situation as a result of the dram's appreciation. S. Katsu pointed out the necessity of taking extra measures aimed at extending the business environment and the investment field. In his words, the rules of the game and the main players of the economic field should be definite, while investors should be fully informed about it. He said that there are still a number of problems in Armenia, and foreign investments have consideraly contributed to their solution. However, these investments were mainly made in some sectors of the economy. Nevertheless, S. Katsu positively assessed the two-digit growth of the country's economy. According to him, economic developments are proceeding rapidly in Armenia and this growth is expected to continue in the next years. He expressed an opinion that Armenia should be able to increase its investment attractiveness not only in economy but also in the sphere of educaion.

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