Author: Boshkezenian Garik

AMERIA CJSC IMPLEMENTS REFORMS IN RA CHAMBER OF CONTROL
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
YEREVAN, November 7. /ARKA/. Ameria CJSC is developing and implementing
reforms in the RA Chamber of Control in the scope of the Public
Sector Modernization Project (PSMP), according to a contract with
the World Bank.
Ameria reports that ÐÊÀ” â eîìïaíèè “Àìåðèÿ”, the project is aimed at
improving the COC auditing effectiveness through the introduction and
application of COC External Public Audit Standards, External Public
Financial Audit Manual, and External Public Effectiveness Audit Manual.
Ameria and its US partner DPK Consulting will design and introduce
modern audit methodologies and audit standards compliant with
International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI)
standards and conduct training-of-trainers programs relevant to the
new standards incorporated in the audit manuals.
As reported, Public Sector Modernization Project (PSMP) is being
implemented by the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Armenia
(RA) and International Development Association (IDA). It is the second
phase of reforms in the Public Administration System and targeted to
enhance the effectiveness of governance system specifically through
introduction of modern information technologies.
The Credit in the amount of USD 10.15 million funded by IDA is aimed at
implementation of six components of the project during 2005-2008 years:
strengthening Civil Service management, introducing e-procurement,
strengthening the Chamber of Control, improving policy formulation
and implementation through capacity building, developing capacity in
local governments, and project management.
Ameria is a group of professional services companies registered in
Armenia with the objective to provide a comprehensive package of
professional advisory and assurance services. Ameria specializes
in four major areas of professional activities: management advisory
services; assurance and advisory services; legal advisory services;
investment banking.
Established in 1998, the company has become a leader in the Armenian
market of advisory services bringing an international reach and local
touch to complex issues rising in more than 30 industry sectors.
–Boundary_(ID_3lHj02YPUuxQ3197nH3B8Q)–

SERZH SARGSYAN: RUSSIA HAS NEVER MISUSED ITS ECONOMIC LEVERS
Regnum, Russia
Nov 6 2006
The Armenian Government will approve the deal between OTE (Greece)
and VympelCom (Russia) for the sale of 90% of the shares of ArmenTel
telecom company, Armenian Defense Minister, National Security
Secretary and Co-chair of the Armenian-Russian Inter-Governmental
Economic Commission Serzh Sargsyan said on Nov 6.
REGNUM reports Sargsyan to say: “We should familiarize ourselves
with the terms of the deal and the sale price.” Commenting on the
wide-spread opinion that the sale of a big number of Armenian strategic
facilities to Russia is dangerous for the country, Sargsyan said that
there is no danger in the growing Russian capital in Armenia as Russia
has never misused its economic levers.
To remind, on Nov 3 VympelCom announced that it had signed a contract
with Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE) on the purchase
of 90% of the shares of ArmenTel, a telecom operator in Armenia. The
cost of the stake is 341.9mln EUR + almost 40mln EUR as ArmenTel’s
net debts and liabilities. The deal will be finalized by the end of
this year.
OTE bought the 90% stake in 1997 for $142.47mln. The remaining 10%
belong to the Armenian Government. This year OTE offered its stake for
tender. 16 companies took part in the tender but only 4 qualified for
the second round: Vympelcom, MTS (both Russia), ETISALAT (Emirates
Telecommunications Corporation/Istithmar ETV/-Emergent Telecom
Ventures) and VTEL Holdings/Knightsbridge Associates.
ArmenTel had enjoyed GSM monopoly till Nov 4 2004, when it renounced it
in exchange for monopoly in IP-telephony. As a result, K-Telecom with
its Viva Cell trade mark became the second GSM operator in Armenia.

FM CONFIRMS YEREVAN READINESS FOR NORMALIZATION TALKS WITH TURKEY
by Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
November 5, 2006 Sunday 09:19 AM EST
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan has once again confirmed
the readiness of his country to start a normalization dialogue with
neighboring Turkey.
The day before, the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information
Department posted the minister’s comments on the statement by Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul in an interview with Radio Liberty.
The minister recalled that last year the Turkish and Armenian
presidents exchanged statements on the settlement between the two
countries, which have no diplomatic relations so far.
Turkey set forward a proposal to Yerevan to create a joint commission
of historians for discussing the issue of Armenians genocide in the
Ottoman Empire in 1915, which is the stumbling stone in normalization.
The Armenian side offered, in turn, to establish an intergovernmental
commission for exchanging opinions on a broad range of issues and
supported normalization without preconditions.
Oskanyan criticized Gul for saying that regular flights between the
two countries and the presence of Armenian citizens in Turkey evidenced
the openness of borders. Oskanyan described the statement as “untrue.”
The minister said that “while the Turkish Criminal Code still
contains the article 301 envisaging criminal punishment even for the
discussion of genocide issues, the claims of open borders cannot be
taken seriously.”
Oskanyan also reaffirmed that “historians from Armenia, Turkey and
other countries have studied the genocide issue outside Turkey and
drew independent conclusions confirming the fact of genocide, which
affected 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

SAAKASHVILI MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURE OF GEORGIA
Armenpress
Nov 06 2006
TBILISI, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: A public opinion survey in Georgia
has found that its president Mikhail Saakashvili remains the most
influential figure of the country.
The survey conducted by a Georgian weekly -Kviris Palitra- among 552
readers found that 91.3 percent trusted their president. This was 0.7
percent down from a similar poll conducted by the weekly two years ago.
Second most influential figure was defense minister Irakly Okruashvili,
followed by interior and national security minister Vano Merabishvili
and parliament chairwoman Nino Burjanadze.

KARAPETYAN FOLLOWS THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS?
A1+
[02:39 pm] 03 November, 2006
KARAPETYAN WANTS TO BECOME PRESIDENT
The People’s Party headed by Tigran Karapetyan will have its own
candidate during the 2008 Presidential elections. As for the 2007
Parliamentary elections, the party will not cooperate with any other
political power, Tigran Karapetyan told a news conference today.
“I want to be nominated proceeding from my ideas and not for the chair
itself. I have that right as I have been living in Armenia since 1994”,
he said.
As for alliances, their 12 000-member party does not have associates
which are democratic. “Alliances exist for the sake of money or for
the sake of power. For example, the Republican party joined as it
had power, Arshak Sadoyan and Shavarsh Kocharyan are the favorites
of people, and Stepan Demirchyan tried to follow the principle of
‘Like father, like son’. But it is obvious that the proverb is not
always valid”, he said.
Tigran Karapetyan announced today that the greatest politician was
Jesus Christ. He first cured and fed people and only then started
preaching. He said that he follows the Example of Christ, “If the
people are to be concerned about their daily bread, how can they
think about other things? “

PRESS RELEASE
Eurasia Foundation
4 Demirchyan Str., Yerevan 0019, Armenia
Contact: Alisa Alaverdyan
Tel/Fax: (374 10) 58-60-59
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Eurasia Foundation Promotes Strategic Social Investment Practices by
Armenia’s Businesses
Yerevan, Armenia – Over one hundred representatives of Armenia’s
business sector, government, civil society organizations and media will
convene on November 10 for a roundtable discussion on current social
investment practices in Armenia. The event marks the launch of Eurasia
Foundation’s (EF) program for the promotion of social investment in
Armenia. The program will build partnerships between civil society,
government and the private sector to more effectively leverage the
social investments of businesses in addressing the country’s social
problems.
At the roundtable, Gagik Sahakyan of Ameria Consulting Company will
present the results of their recent assessment of current social
investment practices among medium and large-sized businesses in
Armenia. Following the presentation of the report findings, Arsen
Ghazaryan, President of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen
of Armenia, and Marguerite Baker of Eurasia Foundation, will provide
overviews of the experiences of UMBA and EF in promoting corporate
social investment in Armenia and other NIS countries.
Most social investments made by businesses in Armenia are one-time
corporate donations rather than part of a longer-term investment
strategy. According to Ara Nazinyan, EF Country Director in Armenia,
“The business sector in Armenia needs to take more responsibility for
building strong communities in partnership with the government and
NGOs. Eurasia Foundation believes that by helping businesses develop
strategic approaches to corporate giving, the philanthropic activities
of Armenia’s businesses can result in positive, long-term changes.”
In contrast to traditional charity actions, social investment
incorporates the company’s mission, business plan, resources and
philanthropic interests to simultaneously benefit the community and
add value to the business. More information on EF’s strategy for
promoting social investment in Armenia as well as electronic versions
of Ameria’s recent assessment in both Armenian and English can be
found on EF Armenia’s website at

GUAM WORKS TO ATTAIN MAXIMALLY POSITIVE UN RESOLUTION ON FROZEN CONFLICTS
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.11.2006 16:41 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The inclusion of the issue of frozen conflicts
in the territory of GUAM member states in the UN GA agenda is huge
success,” Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zurab Gumberidze told
journalists November 2. “It is a huge positive for organization member
states for the international community to have a more impartial
acquaintance with issues in our countries,” he underscored. GUAM
member countries actively work now for attaining a maximally positive
UN resolution at the discussions, reports Trend.

TeleGeorgraphy, DC
Oct 27 2006
ArmenTel selects ZTE for DSL rollout
Armenia’s national PTO ArmenTel has signed a contract with ZTE of
China for the supply of the country’s first DSL broadband network,
writes Telecompaper. In August this year ArmenTel selected ZTE to
build it a CDMA450 wireless in the local loop (WiLL) network to
complement its existing fixed line infrastructure, providing coverage
in areas not presently served by the telco’s PSTN.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, ArmenTel was
established in March 1995 as a joint venture between the Ministry of
Communications and US-owned Trans World Telecom. In 1997 the MTC
launched the privatisation of the telco, and at the end of that year
Greece’s Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) won an
international tender, paying USD143 million for a 90% stake in
ArmenTel in March 1998. OTE has been looking to offload its holding
however, and in October 2006 UAE-based operator Etisalat was reported
to have won the tender for the stake, although it has since denied
this.

WEEK OF ARMENIAN CULTURE TO BE HELD IN KRASNODAR UNIVERSITY OF
MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

KRASNODAR, OCTOBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The week of
national culture of Armenia will be held from October 30 to November 3
in the Krasnodar University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of
Russia. As they informed from the editorial office of the “Yerkramas”
(country) newspaper of Armenians of Russia, the week during which
different events will be held at the university is held within the
framework of the “Year of the Republic of Armenia in the Russian
Federation” being marked in 2006.

Panorama.am
18:56 26/10/06

CAUCASUS-POTI TO WORK ALSO FOR ARMENIA
It is most likely that Caucausus-Poti ferry crossing will work also
for Armenia in December, 2006 or January of the next year, Arsen
Ghazaryan, chairman of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs,
told reporters today
In his words, this ferry rout can transport 52 goods wagons. `It is
rather profitable with such capacity,’ Ghazaryan noted. In his words,
trade turnover between Russia and Armenia through ferry routs makes up
some $ 650,000, which may reach $1 million. /Panorama.am/