Following the 2018 events in Armenia, the number of Armenian citizens seeking asylum in the EU declined by nearly 60%, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said at a meeting with the French-Armenian community representatives in Paris, Eurasia Diary reports citing ARMENPRESS.

“Real estate prices in Armenia have recorded a major growth in the past one and a half year. This is a result of the fact that many our compatriots, numerous representatives of the old and new Diaspora are purchasing real estate in Armenia. And the government’s strategy is the following, especially for the return of new Diaspora representatives to Armenia: to create all the necessary conditions, in other words, to view this as a strategic task. If the talks on visa liberalization start this year - and we hope this will happen - certain time will be required to find a final solution. I may be mistaken a little bit about figures, but the emigration trends declined by nearly 90% in 2018-2019 compared to what we had 2016. We are convinced that before arrive at a final solution on the visa liberalization issue, emigration will drop by 100%. And we will see a process of immigration as a result. Our citizens will use the institute of visa liberalization not for the purpose of escaping from Armenia, but as proud citizens of the world to exercise their right to free movement”, the Armenian leader said.

He added that the government is now hopeful to change also the country’s image, reshaping its citizen as a result of the current economic and educational reforms.

“Armenia should be proud of its Diaspora, and the Diaspora should be proud of Armenia. This is the task we need to solve together, and I am confident that we will definitely solve this issue with joint efforts”, he said.