Why US increased amount of financial aid allocated to Armenia

According to the US political tradition, each February the President submits the draft budget for the next year.

Recently, US President Barak Obama presented a draft budget for 2017, according to which Armenia is to receive $ 22,412,000 from the Economic Support Fund, Azerbaijan- $ 10,936,000, while Georgia-$ 63 million.

The amount of aid allocated to the three South Caucasian republics has increased by several million dollars, compared to previous years.

Armenia was granted 18 million 360 thousand dollars, 51 million dollars was allocated to Georgia and 8 million dollars to Azerbaijan in 2016.

Since the declaration of independence, the United States allocated the least financial support to Armenia  in 2016 and almost 22 percent increase in allocation is a positive hint.

For the years of 2011 and 2012 Armenia received a $ 40 million financial assistance as well as a financial assistance in the amount of two million dollars to Nagorno-Karabakh.

The situation changed dramatically in 2014 when the financial support from the Obama’s administration to Armenia was reduced by 38%: 24 million 719 thousand dollars.

However the Armenian lobby undertook some measures and the amount increased to 30,843 million dollars.

The US has apparently changed its financial policy once Armenia joined the EEU.

Among the reasons we can mention the fact that the US was spending money on the promotion of the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

Meanwhile Russia was strengthening its positions in the Armenian economy and seized the strategically important objects, thus increasing its impact.

The United States, that has the world’s second largest embassy in Armenia, naturally, can not be satisfied with the current situation.

It is quite predictable that the US will make efforts to increase its involvement in the economic sector, as proved the sales of Vorotan HPP cascade.

Thus, we see that the US-Russia rivalry creates a good opportunity to diversify the economy of Armenia, which can certainly be a positive influence and ensure the flow of new investments.

Besides the United States in the last two years is trying to increase its involvement in the Karabakh conflict settlement, exercising a proactive policy, providing another cue to Russia that the impact fight is not yet over.

By Anna Barseghyan