Եկա աշխատելու, բայց մնացի սիրո համար․ հայտնի բիզնես քոուչը՝ Մոսկվայում նախատեսված TOON EXPO-2025–ի և Goght Urban Valley բացառիկ նախագծի մասին

Renowned business coach, TOON EXPO‑2025 speaker, and participant in the large‑scale Goght Urban Valley project Boris Fokin explains how Armenia changed his outlook on life, education, and investment. 

YEREVAN, June 19. News‑Armenia. Renowned business coach, TOON EXPO‑2025 speaker, and participant in the large‑scale Goght Urban Valley project Boris Fokin explains how Armenia changed his outlook on life, education, and investment. In an interview with the “News‑Armenia” agency, he clarified why foreigners feel peace in Armenia, why children see prospects, why entrepreneurs have confidence about the future, and what makes Armenian real estate a new magnet—not only for the diaspora but also for investors worldwide.

"News-Armenia" - On an old map of the Dutch traveler Antoine Augustin (engraving by Peter Starkman, 1722) paradise is located where Yerevan now stands—between the lakes Van, Urmia, and Sevan. Did you know this when you decided to move to Armenia in 2016?

B. Fokin - No. I knew nothing about Armenia.

"News-Armenia" - What was the decisive factor?

B. Fokin - Moscow investors invited me to open a Cambridge International School in Yerevan. I came to work on this project, and we opened the school. As I phrased it a few years ago: I came for work, but stayed for love. About three years later I realized that life here is good, and overall I feel comfortable and happy here. And that, I think, solidified in 2020, when there was a war in Artsakh, and I began my public activities. A purpose emerged and its feeling. Then there were even more reasons and a desire to stay here.

"News-Armenia" - What was your first impression of Armenia, if you look back retrospectively?

B. Fokin – First impressions, like everyone’s. At first you view the country through a tourist’s eyes. Moreover, in Armenia the initial tourist impressions are always average, because it is not the top tourist destination. It has many other advantages. But at first you look with a tourist’s perspective: everything is interesting, authentic, unusual, nothing more. Armenia truly opened up to me a year or two after traveling through several countries. I had then been to Singapore, France, Malaysia, Thailand, the Emirates. And I remember very clearly the feeling when I landed in Armenia, where you basically have no relatives or friends at all, but you feel your body relax, you feel safe and at peace. And then I thought there is something different here. I didn’t realize it, but my body simply felt different in Armenia. And then, probably, I began to wonder why I feel good here?

“News‑Armenia” – And why?

B. Fokin — Well, first of all, safety. Because here a person has always mattered, does matter, and will matter. There are never foreign problems here; people are open. In Armenia you can very calmly start a conversation with anyone. The value of interpersonal communication and support is evident. Everyone is very friendly, there’s no aggression despite everything, unlike, for example, Georgia. The second thing is the sense of purpose. The country is small and developing. Since 2016, each year has been better than the previous one for me. Even despite the 2020 war in Artsakh, the events of 2021‑2022, the complex geopolitical situation, the country and the city keep getting better and better. Every year something changes: smoking in cafés has been banned, the city has been improved, new technologies have appeared. Cafés, coffee houses and restaurants in Yerevan have surpassed European standards; they can be compared only with Moscow and St. Petersburg. Here Italian cuisine is tastier than in Italy, the service is better, and it’s much easier to find a quality cappuccino or espresso than in Milan. If before there were educational funds that impressed me, now they are already bearing fruit: both COAF and Tumo, whose franchises are bought by the governments of Japan and Germany.

"News-Armenia" – By the way, about educational projects. As far as I know, you are now implementing an unprecedented educational project for Armenia in the Kotayk region in the cottage settlement Goght Urban Valley.

B. Fokin – With Goght we have a separate story. I help develop the educational ecosystem. There are very ambitious plans, and a lot has been done to create a dream educational environment. I help create the right communications and choose the right providers of educational services so that all this becomes a single ecosystem, and the child has absolutely the full spectrum of development opportunities.

"News-Armenia" – One of the investors in Goght Urban Valley, Movses Dzhavaryan, said that the goal of the project is to provide quality education: from kindergarten up to entry into prestigious international universities. So, are you now working on creating such an educational complex?

B. Fokin – Goght Urban Valley is a project where the best Russian engineers and urban planners work. They design the territory, parks, and the entire living ecosystem not only for the residents of Goght but also for the surrounding area. They plan how tourist routes will turn into showrooms showcasing the very best of Armenia. They present what the country can be proud of, moving beyond stereotypes such as brandy, kebabs, and Ararat. For example, an impressive 8 hectares have been allocated for a school site.

“News-Armenia” – In fact, the Goght Urban Valley project is becoming unprecedented not only in real estate but also in education. Are you aiming to set new education standards?

B. Fokin – Goght is a place where people truly want to buy property and live. The air is perfectly clean, the ecology is pristine, there are gardens, unique safety and healthcare systems. Alongside this, an educational ecosystem will be created: a school with a system of additional project‑based learning, engineering education, and a rich sports infrastructure. There will also be a Chinese center, as well as COAF and Armath. Education will follow international programs, in particular a British one (negotiations are underway with the British International School), which will give graduates the opportunity to become students at the world’s most prestigious universities. Everyone will want their child to live and study there using the best foreign and Armenian practices. All of this will be experienced while being in contact with nature. The innovation lies precisely in this: the child will develop comprehensively in a healthy environment, something impossible to achieve in a city setting. The educational complex will be open to all who wish, including children living in neighboring villages.

"News-Armenia" – Would you yourself like to purchase housing in Gokht? 

B. Fokin – Of course. I already picture a house with a panoramic window overlooking Ararat and a white piano, four bedrooms, where we all live together with the children. I drive to Yerevan, and in 30 minutes I reach the city center. After all, it’s a wonderful place, one of the settings where one wants to be. 

"News-Armenia" – This project will be presented at the first Armenian real‑estate exhibition‑sale TOON EXPO‑2025 in Moscow, where you will appear as a speaker and present the investment opportunities of the Armenian real‑estate market. 

B. Fokin – TOON EXPO has already proven its effectiveness. Last year, in October, at the exhibition in Yerevan, $200 million worth of real estate was sold in three days. We said we should try to enter the Russian market. Moreover, it’s not only about Armenians who like to have a piece of their homeland. Both they and everyone else need to be shown that Armenia is now different, having changed dramatically since the 2000s. Our task is to bring Russian brokers, investors, and buyers to this exhibition in Moscow and see how attractive Armenian real estate is to them now, both from an investment standpoint and an innovation standpoint. The Armenian real‑estate market has changed a lot. Genuine development projects have appeared here that work on territory development, management, calculation of investment attractiveness, project management, and technoparks are being built. TOON EXPO‑2025 in Moscow is an opportunity, without coming to Armenia, to see the very best Armenian real estate and slightly change one’s perspective. Recently an international group of brokers visited us. The majority were non‑Armenians who had never been to Armenia before and sell elite real estate in Moscow, London, and Dubai. They left with a completely different view of what Armenia is and why investing in Armenian real estate can be attractive.

"News-Armenia" – Despite geopolitical risks? 

B. Fokin – Of course. Right now there are geopolitical risks everywhere. Today we see the flight map after what happened between Iran and Israel: the only corridor open for flights passes over Armenia and Georgia. 

"News-Armenia" – Then why is it advantageous to invest in Armenia, particularly in real estate? 

B. Fokin – I will name two, probably the most important factors that may matter for non‑Armenians. The first factor – the country’s economy is being heavily restructured and technologically developed. Armenia may lag behind top tourist destinations, but it has a science‑intensive technological base. And we already have proof. Yandex, Nvidia, Boston Genes, Synopsys, Service Titan, Pixar, AMD have come to Armenia and opened large offices. Another three companies are investing $500 million in launching the largest AI data center in the region. This will attract a huge number of projects, tech parks, new offices, and will require new development and residential spaces, many of which will be built over the next 20 years.

“News-Armenia” – So what’s the second reason?

B. Fokin – The second reason is the factor of the Armenian diaspora. Seeing how everything is changing, the new and good projects back home, these people will always want to buy something there. Demand will grow as people realize that Armenia is now a completely different country with entirely different assets. Demand will outpace supply because most Armenians live outside Armenia. There is always a target audience that has demand for Armenian real estate. Armenians want to maintain a connection with their homeland, and that will never disappear.

“News-Armenia” – Name five reasons for a non‑Armenian to purchase property in Armenia, for example in Goght Urban Valley.

B. Fokin – First, living in Armenia is very comfortable and happy. The level of happiness among the Russians who live here is extremely high. Second, the nature is incredibly rich and wonderful. In Goght the air is clean, the water is tasty – it’s health, comfort, coziness. Third, the economy is developing, getting better each year. When the market is constantly growing, real estate appreciates. What you buy now will increase in value, even though many think it’s already very expensive. You just have to get used to the fact that Armenia is no longer cheap. Prices will approach those in Western Europe, the United States, or other countries.

And this will be justified by large technology companies and big businesses that will be present here. The fourth – for a Russian‑speaking person it is super comfortable here. Almost everyone speaks Russian. You can fly from Moscow in three hours with a Russian internal passport – about 20‑30 flights to Yerevan operate daily. There are bookstores packed with books in Russian and English. Lots of musical and cultural events, many in Russian. The level of classical music events in Yerevan, for example, I can compare only with the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg. What conductor Sergei Smbatyan does is simply an incredible world‑class level. The fifth – I want my children to grow up here. They were born here, they have no Armenian roots. But here they are raised wonderfully. Everyone treats them well, children are very loved. For children there are many prospects and opportunities here. And if we talk about a project like Gokht, we immediately eliminate all the shortcomings of Yerevan, because the capital of Armenia has few sports facilities, parks, pedestrian zones. In Gokht there will be an abundance of all this, and at a very high level.

“News‑Armenia” – In an interview with our agency as part of our special project “Armenia: Reboot,” you said in 2021 that the whole world will come to Armenia to learn how to operate under conditions of uncertainty and stress. In short, we are living in the right place.

B. Fokin – We are indeed living in the right place, and time only confirms our conviction.