Armenian PM Pashinyan announces EU grants and industrial growth

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Armenia for a two‑day regional trip, announcing a €200 million grant for South‑Caucasus connectivity projects that is expected to attract up to €2 billion of investment under the EU’s Global Gateway programme. In addition, Armenia will receive an extra €18 million for trade‑diversification measures and €20 million for improving living conditions in border communities, funds that will be allocated jointly with Azerbaijan. The EU also pledged to restore a visa‑free regime for Armenian citizens by 2029, though it did not assume any new legal obligations toward Armenia.

At the InnoproM industrial exhibition in Yerevan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan highlighted that Armenia’s industrial output grew 4.7 % in 2025 compared with 2024 and 13 % in the first four months of the current year versus the same period last year. He noted that manufacturing has doubled over the past nine years and stressed that new technologies are intended to free workers from routine tasks rather than replace them, supporting a shift toward higher‑value production.