Author: Jalatian Sonya

Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
Dec 30 2007

Azeri premier meets Egyptian minister of international coop

Baku, Dec 30, IRNA

Azerbaijan`s Prime Minister Artur Rasizade met with Egypt`s Minister
for International Cooperation Faiza Abu El Naga, AzerTAc reported.

The Egyptian Minister expressed satisfaction with results of her
meetings in Baku.

Faiza Abu El Naga said Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev`s visit to
Egypt this year gave the impetus to the development of bilateral
relations between the two countries.

She added Egypt`s President Hosni Mubarak is also expected to visit
Azerbaijan soon.

Faiza Abu El Naga said there are huge prospects for future
Azerbaijan-Egypt cooperation.

The Egyptian Minister said during her talks in Baku, Egypt and
Azerbaijan agreed that her country will make investments in
construction of a pharmaceutical plant in the Azeri capital and
provide teaching aids on Arabian for Azerbaijani schools.

Artur Rasizade spoke of Azerbaijan`s economic development. He
informed the Egyptian Minister about regional economic and transport
projects.

On the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
the Azeri Premier said his country is making every effort towards
peaceful settlement of the dispute.

Faiza Abu El Naga said Egypt support Azerbaijan`s territorial
integrity and sovereignty, and that its stance will never change.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Dec 28 2007

NKR’S justice minister appointed as supervisory chamber chairman

STEPANAKERT, December 28 . /ARKA/. The Minister of Justice of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Arthur Movsisian has been appointed
to the post of the Chairman of the Supervisory Chamber.

The nomination of Movsisian was passed by the parliament in a secret
vote with 24 votes `’for”, 3 `’against” and no one abstrained, the
Press Service of NKR’s Parliament reported.

As per the Constitution of NKR, Petrosian candidacy was suggested by
the President of NKR Bako Sahakian. -0–

President underlined importance of excavations in Tigranakert

28-12-2007 11:22:39 – KarabakhOpen

Yesterday President Bako Sahakyan met with Hamlet Petrosyan, head of
the expedition of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the
National Academy of Science, and Vardges Safaryan, teacher at Artsakh
State University.

They discussed a wide range of issues relating to excavations at
ancient Tigranakert in the vicinities of Stepanakert, and underlined
the importance of excavations. The president emphasized the necessity
to boost up the activities, the General Department of Information of
the president administration reported.

The president offered to set up closer cooperation with the Ministry of
Culture with our Diasporan compatriots and the media.

For the first time the government has assigned 30 million drams for the
excavations in Tigranakert.

THERE ARE NO FOREIGN PARTICIPANTS IN CAPITAL OF ONLY 2 OUT OF 21
ARMENIAN BANKS

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the deputy chairman of
the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Artur Javadian, the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) has a credit portfolio of 18 million dollars
in Armenia. He said at the December 26 press conference that three
groups of factors influnced the IFC’s decision to invest 25 million
dollars in Ardshininvestbank. The first group of factors includes the
stability, reliability and transparency of the Armenian banking system.
In particular, stability with respect to Ardshininvestbank is reflected
in 85% growth of the bank’s credit portfolio in 2007 as compared with
2006. Its reliability is seen in the fact that fixed-period deposits of
natural and juridical persons make up over 80% of the liabilities of
this bank. Its transparency is characterized by the fact that in 2007
Ardshininvestbank’s net profit amounted to more than 4 billion drams
(about 13 million USD), exceeding twofold last year’s net profit.

The second group of factors that condition large investments in the
banking system is related to attractiveness of Armenia’s economy and
banking system. It is expressed in a high level of repayment of
credits. 98.3% of Ardshininvestbank’s credits are classified as
standard ones. The third group of factors is reflected in the use of
corporate management principles especially in the banking system, as a
result of which assets and capitals of banks increase, the networks of
their branches expand, new institutional investors are attracted,
competition grows, interest rates are reduced and new financial
instruments are introduced.

In the words of the CBA deputy chairman, there are no foreign
participants in only 2 out of the 21 Armenian banks. On the whole, in
the past few years, participants of the Armenian banking system have
signed big deals of at least 80 million dollars with foreign partners.
It is planned that another 2-3 deals will be signed in early 2008.

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
Dec 26 2007

Armenian security agency denies pressure on ex-president’s supporters

Yerevan, 26 December: The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia
made a statement today in which it refuted the statements of
ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan who had said that the citizens of
the country were under the pressure from the employees of the NSS.

"The NSS officially declares that the given information does not
correspond to the reality. The NSS is an apolitical structure, and
the director of the service made it clear once again during his 18
December interview. The NSS once again declares that it functions
within the framework of its authority established by Armenian
legislation and it considers unsuccessful all the efforts to involve
the security bodies in the internal political struggle," the
statement reads.

Ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan said on 25 December that "for
already two months my allies have been summoned on the phone or
verbally to police and security service departments, where they have
been subjected to psychological pressure and threats to force them to
stop supporting my candidacy and participating in my rallies".

OPENING OF HRANT DINK FOREST CREATED ON INITIATIVE OF ARMENIA TREE
PROJECT IN TERRITORY OF FIOLETOVO VILLAGE OF LORI REGION TO TAKE PLACE
IN 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. In 2007 the Armenia Tree Project
non-profit organization has exceeded its commitment within the
frameworks of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) world
Billion Tree campaign by planting more than 550 thousand trees in 174
places of Armenia.

According to the information provided to Noyan Tapan by the Office of
the Armenia Tree Project, more than 1 million trees have been planted
in the forestless places of the southern regions of Armenia, in
particular, in the arable lands of Aygut, Dzoravank, Dprabak in the
Gegharkunik region, as well as in the arabla lands of Fioletovo,
Alaverdi, and Spitak in the Lori region within the frameworks of the
development program of villages and mountain communities.

In the territory of the Fioletovo village a Hrant Dink forest has been
created on the initiative of the fund, the solemn opening of which is
envisaged to take place in 2008.

Since 1994 more than 2 million trees, in general, have been planted in
the republic due to the efforts of the Armenia Tree Project
organization. Socially unprovided inhabitants have been involved in the
seedling reproduction and forest planting work.

STARTING FROM 2008, SALE OF MEAT WITHOUT SLAUGHTERHOUSE STAMP TO BE
BANNED IN ARMENIAN MARKETS AND SHOPS

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN. Since May, the Food Safety
Inspection (set up in 2007) has conducted checkings of 800 economic
entities, 760 of which were subjected to administrative responsibility
for various violations. The RA minister of agriculture Davit Lokian
stated at the December 28 press conference that fines of the total
amount of 50 million drams (about 164 thousand USD) were imposed.

The minister said that there are a lot of problems in the country’s
food production and consumption sphere. "The export of food to the
European Union is out of the question, if we cannot provide our
residents with safe foodstuffs within the country," he said. According
to him, a number of steps have been taken in order to deal with these
problems. In particular, the Law on Food Safety will take effect this
year.

It was announced that starting from April 2008, butchering outside a
slaughterhouse will be banned in the country, which is one of the most
important problems related to food safety. Four big slaughterhouses
will be built in Kotayk, Syunik, Aragatsotn and Shirak marzes with
foreign assistance, while the sale of meat without the stamp of a
slaughterhouse will be banned in all markets and shops.

ARMENIAN OIL REFINERY COULD GET GREEN LIGHT IN FEBRUARY
By M. Alkhazashvili

The Messenger
Dec 26 2007
Georgia

Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan announced that next February,
a team of Armenian, Russian and Iranian researches will present its
final viability report on the construction of an oil refinery in
southern Armenia to process Iranian oil.

The report should detail the profitability, or lack thereof, of an
Armenian oil refinery and a plan to send oil in a U-turn back to Iran.

The refinery, which would be built near the Iranian border, could
cost about USD 2 billion, according to the news agency Regnum.

Its capacity should be in the region of 6.5 million tons of crude
oil a year, producing 3.3 million tons of diesel and 2.8 million tons
of petrol.

The finished product could wind up in Armenia, Iran and possibly
other markets.

The Russian and Armenian presidents were said to have hammered out
a plan for the refinery in a Sochi meeting at the start of this year.

INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM MAY BUILD NEW NPP IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.12.2007 17:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A new nuclear power plant in Armenia may be built
by an international consortium, RA Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan
told reporters.

"During recent 5 years the international community became more
optimistic about construction of a new nuclear power plant in Armenia
and is ready to lend a helping hand," he said.

According to Mr Movsisyan, Russia could supply reliable nuclear
reactors while Europe could help with electrotechnical equipment. "The
project feasibility study of a new ANPP may be developed in September
2008. Armenia and Russia are discussing prolongation of revenue of
the CJSC Inter RAO UES," he said adding that the problems with fuel
supply and preventive works have been resolved, Rosatom.ru reports.

The second reactor will be stopped in 2016. The ANPP will apparently
be finally closed in 2043. The dismantling will cost 238,75 million
euros and will be carried out in successive steps.

SIX ARMENIANS DETAINED AT THE GEORGIAN BORDER

armradio.am
21.12.2007 16:02

December 20 Georgian frontier guards arrested six Armenian citizens
at Sarpi checkpoint, who were trying to leave Georgia with others’
passports.

Press Service of the Frontier Police of Georgia reported that the
detained were trying to cross the Georgian-Turkish border, when
the frontier guards were shifting the duty. But their attempt was
prevented.

The false passports have been confiscated. A criminal case has been
launched. Preliminary investigation is underway.