YEREVAN, April 30. /ARKA/. The amount of remittances from Russia to Armenia has been declining throughout 2024, head of the Armenian Central Bank Martin Galstyan said today.

“This may be partly due to the settlement and payment system, but there are also larger and more impactful factors, including geopolitical and economic ones, which have a significant impact on the flow of money,” he said at a press conference.

Galstyan noted that in the future there will be a need to conduct another survey among Armenian migrant workers, mainly in Russia. “We will be able to identify certain behavioral trends and tendencies,” he said.

The head of the regulator also explained that taking into account the realities in the economy of Armenia and Russia, the behavior of the exchange rate, the ratio of salaries, it is necessary to have an understanding of whether Armenian migrant workers  plan to continue working in Russia.

“Some prefer to return to Armenia and work here, as the difference in salaries now is much smaller than, for example, 10 years ago,” he added.

According to Galstyan, similar questions were conducted in several stages in 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, among others.

In turn, Head of the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Department Hayk Avetisyan said that the net inflow of private money transfers to Armenia from Russia in January-March decreased by about 50% compared to the same period last year, while money transfers of non-commercial nature decreased by 55%.

According to the Central Bank, the net inflow of remittances of individuals to Armenia from Russia in the first quarter of this year amounted to $656.6 million compared to $1.1 billion in January-March 2023. -0-