STATE BUDGET OF RA IMPLEMENTED WITH SURPLUS OF 12.5 BILLION DRAMS IN JANUARY 2010
Noyan Tapan
March 4, 2010
YEREVAN, MARCH 4, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA state budget was implemented with
a surplus of 12.5 billion drams in January 2010, while a deficit of
32.8 billion drams has been programmed for the first quarter. NT was
informed by the RA Ministry of Finance that in the same period of last
year the budget was implemented with a surplus of 7.3 billion drams.
TURKEY CONDEMNS VOTE, RECALLS AMBASSADOR
04/turkey-recalls-ambassador/
March 4, 2010
ANKARA-Turkey recalled its ambassador to the U.S. for consultations
following the vote by the House Foreign Relations Committee on the
Armenian Genocide Resolution.
"Our Ambassador to Washington Namik Tan was recalled tonight to Ankara
for consultations after the development," said a statement issued
by the Turkish Prime Minister’s office. "We condemn this resolution
accusing Turkey of a crime that it has not committed."
The move came minutes after the U.S. congressional panel approved
the resolution on March 4.
WATER PRICES TO GO UP AS WELL
0 4:44 pm | March 04, 2010
Social
This summer, citizens of Yerevan will most probably pay 206 drams
for 1 cubic meter of water instead of the previous 181 drams.
Trade director of "Yerevan Water" Company Gagik Margaryan informed that
the company had appealed to the Public Services Regulatory Commission
to increase the price for water supply and disposal by 25 drams,
but the appeal will be examined in May. If the appeal is upheld,
water prices will be increased by 14 percent.
Why are prices going up? Gagik Margaryan did not link that to the gas
price inflation. He brought up four reasons for the impact on prices.
"The four reasons are the change of sold water volumes, inflation,
shifts in the Euro-Dollar exchange rates and the predictable inflation
of energy prices."
TOUCHED UPON TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS AS WELL
d-nalbandyan
03:24 pm | March 04, 2010
Official
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan met with the delegation
led by Chairman of the European People’s Party Wilfried Martens.
The interlocutors discussed in detail the ongoing development of the
Armenia-European Union partnership and issues relating to the Eastern
Partnership program, attaching importance to the establishment of a
parliamentary platform for cooperation between EU countries and EU
Eastern neighbors which may contribute to the deepening of relations
with the European Parliament and the cooperation between regional
countries in a new format.
Edward Nalbandyan and Wilfried Martens also touched upon steps aimed
at normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations, the latest developments
of the talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as exchange
views on a number of regional and international issues.
ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL ARMENIAN COINS ACQUIRED BY PRINCETON NUMISMATIC COLLECTION
-03-03-ancient-and-medieval-armenian-coins-acquire d-by-princeton-numismatic-collection
Wednesday March 03, 2010
Princeton, N.J., United States – The Princeton University Numismatic
Collection has acquired the Armenian Heritage Collection of ancient
and medieval coins, adding a new area of specialized strength to the
University’s extensive numismatic research holdings.
The Armenian Heritage Collection was assembled over a period of
decades by an expert collector, who sought to represent the various
periods in the pre-modern age when Armenia produced its own coinage
or made substantial contributions to the coinage of other powers,
according to Princeton Curator of Numismatics Alan Stahl.
"The collection includes coins of three distinct periods, all of
interest to the academic concerns of the University," Stahl said.
Stahl said the acquisition will provide scholars with access to
significant materials to study early Armenian civilization, as well
as provide new opportunities at Princeton to research ancient and
medieval societies.
The earliest coins in the collection are those of the Artaxiad dynasty,
which became the largest political power east of Rome in the first
century B.C. The coins of most relevance to Princeton’s existing
holdings are those minted in the reign of Tigranes the Great, who ruled
from the Seleucid capital of Antioch-on-the-Orontes from 95 to 55 B.C.
"The coins of Tigranes from Antioch hold special interest for Princeton
because University scholars led the excavations of the site in the 20th
century and the University holds more than 30,000 coins found there in
our collection," Stahl said. "One of the great mysteries of the coins
from these excavations is the lack of any in the name of Tigranes
and the dearth of local municipal coins for the period of his reign."
Included in the collection are two large silver pieces of Tigranes
the Great and 19 bronze coins in his name, as well as examples of
rare coins featuring his successors. All of these coins follow the
models of the Hellenistic world, with the portrait of the ruler on
the front of the coin and a local deity on the back. The writing on
the coins is in Greek.
"The acquisition of this interesting and uncommon collection will
significantly broaden Princeton’s resources for the study of both
the history and the imagery of the classical world," said Michael
Koortbojian, Princeton professor of art and archaeology. "Moreover,
this new collection will not only allow students and faculty
direct access to primary historical material, but, in the context of
Princeton’s broader numismatic holdings, it will provide an important
body of material for research into the interactions between the various
cultures and societies that comprised the ancient and medieval world."
The second group of coins in the Armenian Heritage Collection comprises
gold solidi of the Byzantine Empire from the sixth through the 11th
century.
"Armenians figured prominently in the government of Byzantium,
including in the ranks of its important emperors. The addition of
these magnificent gold solidi greatly strengthens our holdings of
Byzantine coinage, which has constituted a major focus of acquisition
in recent years," Stahl said.
The third component of the collection comprises coins of the medieval
kingdom of Cilician Armenia, on the south coast of what is now Turkey.
The kingdom, ruled by Roupenid family, had strong ties to its
surrounding powers, Byzantine, Islamic and Crusader. These connections
are illustrated by a large silver coin in the collection, equivalent
to the European groat or the Islamic dirhem. The coin bears on its
front an image of the king on horseback in European style, surrounded
by a legend in Armenian characters, while on the back it bears writing
in Arabic.
"The coins of Cilician Armenia in the new collection complement the
Latin Orient Collection of Crusader Coinage that we acquired two
years ago, giving us a fuller picture of the interplay of coinages
in the medieval eastern Mediterranean," Stahl said.
The Armenian Heritage Collection was acquired by the Princeton
University Numismatic Collection with funds from the Friends of
Princeton University Library and matching funds provided by the
University’s Program in Hellenic Studies with the support of the
Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund. The Numismatic Collection is part
of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections in Princeton
University’s Firestone Library.
FAAE ADDRESSES A LETTER TO US CONGRESSMEN
armradio.am
05.03.2010 15:48
President of the Forum of Armenian Associations of Europe Ashot
Grigoryan addressed a letter to US Congressmen. The message reads:
"Honorable Congressmen,
On behalf of the Forum of Armenian Associations of Europe I would
like to express my deepest gratitude for your debating on the Armenian
Genocide and adopting the Resolution 252.
I convey our highest assurances that your action serves as evidence of
your role as leaders in the United States’ perception of democracy,
justice and truth and as an example to the whole world. The accurate
appreciation of the history of the annihilation of 1.5 million
innocent Armenians should serve to prevent similar crimes against
humanity in future.
Honorable Congressmen, please accept assurances of our gratitude and
deepest appreciation."
AMERIABANK AND EBRD TO DIRECT 20 MLN USD TO CO-FINANCING OF MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES
ArmInfo
05.03.2010
ArmInfo. Ameriabank and European bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) have signed an agreement on joint implementation of
the credit project "Medium Sized Co-Financing Facility"(MCFF), under
which each of the parties will allocate 10 mln USD from its own funds.
As a result, the total amount of crediting will make up 20 mln USD.
The specified agreement was signed in Yerevan on Thursday by EBRD
Director of Financial Institutions in Central Asia, Caucasus and
Mongolia Mike Taylor and Chairman of Directorate, Director General
of Ameriabank Artak Hanesyan.
Hanesyan said at a press-conference that under the project the
funds will be spent on financing medium- sized loans provided by
Ameriabank to the local enterprises. "Ameriabank highly appreciates
its participation in the given project. Cooperation with EBRD opens
for us new prospects of credit portfolio diversification, and to a
great extent contributes to development of medium business, which is
the basis of Armenian economy",- he stressed. Under the given project,
the average amount of a loan will be $1-2 mln, and the loans will be
provided in US dollars, which will especially interest export-oriented
companies. He currency risks will be divided between the parties. The
part of the loan financed by EBRD is considered direct financing where
Ameriabank has a status of an agent, and as regards own crediting,
we’ll assume the risks",- said Hanesyan.
For his part, Mike Taylor pointed out that Ameriabank is the 13th
bank EBRD is cooperating with in Armenia. By the given project, EBRD
confirms its willingness to contribute to development of private
sector of Armenia by making the necessary financing more available
for local enterprises, he stressed. According to him, the document
signed today is part of EBRD’s corporate strategy, under which it is
envisaged to work with the best banks in Armenia. He expressed hope
that this is the first step towards further fruitful cooperation with
the dynamically developing Ameriabank.
EBRD says that the given loan is a component of Multi-Bank Framework
Facility II in Armenia aimed at developing financial mediation in
the country by opening mid-term credit lines for local commercial
banks for further commercial crediting. The program was launched in
2006, and within its frames over 118 mln USD were allocated for 12
Armenian banks.
According to the Ranking of the Banking System in Armenia by the
Agency of Rating Marketing Information (ArmInfo), in 2009 Ameriabank
doubled its credit portfolio to 67.8 bln AMD (4th position) or 65,5%
of assets. The net profit of the bank was 1.5 bln AMD (4th position).
The majority shareholder of Ameriabank is TDA Holdings Limited
affiliated with Troika Dialog, the share of participation in the
capital being 99,99%.
EBRD PROVIDES 10 MILLION USD TO AMERIABANK
592978/lang/en
2010-03-04
YEREVAN, MARCH 4, ARMENPRESS: European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) signed today a contract with "Ameriabank" providing
10 million USD loan which will be directed toward co-financing of
medium sum of the loans provided to companies. The own investment of
the "Ameriabank" in this program amounts to 10 million USD.
BOEING’S MCNERNEY OPPOSES CALLING ARMENIAN MASSACRE GENOCIDE
Seattle Post Intelligencer
archives/196432.asp
March 3 2010
WA
Calling the 1915 Turkish massacre of Armenians "genocide" is a bad
idea because it would jeopardize U.S. exports to Turkey, according
to the chief executives of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, United
Technologies and Northrop Grumman.
"Alienating a significant NATO ally and trading partner would have
negative repercussions for U.S. geopolitical interests and efforts
to boost both exports and employments," the top executives, including
Boeing’s Jim McNerney, said in a joint letter Feb. 26 to the chairman
of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which is considering the
measure, according to Reuters.
The Aerospace Industries Association took a similar view in its own
letter, Reuters reported. The House committee is set to vote on the
measure Thursday
NEW PROSPECTS FOR ARMENIAN-EGYPTIAN COOPERATION
gov.am
March 4 2010
Armenia
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received a delegation of ARTOK Group,
an Egyptian investment company led by company president Shafik Gabri.
In greeting the guests, the Prime Minister said to be well aware
and highly appreciative of those investment programs carried out by
the company.
Concerning the prospects for deepening bilateral cooperation and
implementing investment programs, the head of government made a point
of developing knowledge-based economy supported by techno-parks. The
parties agreed that technical business parks should be established
to provide the full set of IT- and scientific research-related
information.
The interlocutors next spoke about the possibility of building
a broadband online network. The Prime Minister advised that his
government had already approved the concept of electronic society
implying continuous development of the system of e-governance. The
importance of implementing free economic zone-related projects was
emphasized on either side.
Asked so by the guest, the Prime Minister touched upon the strategy
of Armenia’s economic development and some regional problems. He
also spoke about the local impact of the global crisis and the ways
of coping with it.
In conclusion, Tigran Sargsyan expressed hope that the planned joint
action will be successful and invited the guests back to Armenia in
the month of October to attend the opening of the world’s longest
cable way in Tatev.