Author: Nahapetian Samvel

ARMENIAN PRODUCERS TAKE PART IN CIS YOUNG PRODUCER LABORATORY

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
25.06.2009 17:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In the framework of the 8th international festival
of Chekhov Laboratory of young producers from CIS countries is
organized from June 23 to June 30 in Moscow. Suren Shakhverdyan,
Lusine Ernjakyan, David Haroutiunyan and Tsolak Galstyan participate
in the work of laboratory from Armenia.

The laboratory of young film producers is organized by the
International Confederation of Theatre Unions with support of the
Interstate Fund for humanitarian cooperation between CIS states. 23
producers from Armenia, Belarus, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan,
Ukraine and Azerbaijan take part in the work of laboratory.

"HOT LINE" FUNCTIONS IN THE ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT’S STAFF

ARMENPRESS
June 24, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS: "Hot line" functions in the Armenian
Government’s staff through which citizens may apply in case they
rights have been violated by the republican executive bodies, their
territorial services and territorial government bodies.

Public relations department of Armenian Government told Armenpress that
the "hot line" phone number is 526-000 or [email protected] mail address.

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN TO MEET IN PARIS

armradio.am
24.06.2009 14:53

The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, will pay a working
visit to Paris from June 26 to 27.

In Paris the Armenian Foreign Minister is expected to meet his
Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov and the Co-Chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group.

June 27-28 Edward Nalbandian will participate in the meeting of the
OSCE Foreign Ministers on the Greek island of Corfu dedicated to the
discussion of security systems in Europe and issues of cooperation.

U.S. MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIR ISSUES STATEMENT ON COMMITMENT TO SECURING PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

US State News
June 23, 2009 Tuesday 5:50 PM EST

YEREVAN, Armenia, March 10 — The U.S. Embassy issued the following
statement:

The United States Co-Chair of the OSCE’s Minsk Group shares with its
fellow Co-Chair countries and all Minsk Group members a commitment to
securing a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. If
it is to be just and lasting, any such settlement must be a mutually
agreed balance of the Helsinki Final Act’s key principles of non-use
of force, self-determination, and territorial integrity. It is the
fundamental mission of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to help the parties
negotiate this balance. They have proposed a set of Basic Principles,
outlined in their Madrid Document, which can achieve this difficult
but crucial goal.

NASDAQ OMX ARMENIA CONDUCTS INVESTOR RELATIONS SEMINAR, SORPORATE GOVERNANCE WORKSHOP

ARKA
June 23, 2009

YEREVAN, June 23. /ARKA/. The Investor Relations and Corporate
Governance seminars were organized in Yerevan jointly by NASDAQ OMX
Armenia and the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS), a program
run by USAID and the East-West Management Institute.

As ARKA was told in the department of marketing and communications
of the NASDAQ OMX Armenia, as one of its primary objectives, the PFS
Program assists countries in Central and Eastern Europe to accelerate
financial sector development and reform based on best practices
as well as international standards, promoting integration into the
European and international economic systems.

The Investor Relations (IR) seminar held on June 17 gathered nearly 60
representatives of all capital market stakeholder groups, including
issuers listed and admitted to trading on NASDAQ OMX Armenia, stock
exchange member banks and investment companies, business journalists,
as well as the Central Bank of Armenia.

Speakers, both local and invited from the United States, Poland, and
Estonia, covered a variety of topics such as importance of IR in modern
corporate environment, IR development trends in Europe in the past two
decades, information disclosure requirements that exist in European
countries and Armenia, channels and tools used for communicating with
investors, Baltic market experience in promoting the development of
the com panies’ IR function and rewarding IR outperformers.

A survey of websites of Armenian companies listed or admitted to
trading on NASDAQ OMX Armenia was also presented, focusing on how
their online IR practices compare to those of peers in various European
and CIS countries.

It was concluded that, even though investor relations is a relatively
new area of activities in Armenia, it is not neglected by Armenian
companies and will continue to receive increasing attention from
businesses that want to raise capital in the market.

The Corporate Governance workshop was held on June 19, 2009
and was attended by over 20 participants, primarily financial
journalists. During the workshop a corporate governance case study
was presented, which helped emphasize the importance of transparency
and good governance practices in companies.

Evidence from multiple sources was used to demonstrate that investors
worldwide are prepared to pay a premium for the securities of companies
that are governed in an accountable and transparent manner. The
second presentation, specially designed for journalists, provided an
overview of principles and best practices to follow when reporting on
topics related to corporate governance. The role of media in making
the general public aware of potential issues related to governance
practices in companies, as well as in providing insightful and
impartial coverage of all related topics was stressed.

Having received v ery positive feedback regarding both events,
NASDAQ OMX Armenia foresees that they will promote good governance
practices and strengthen investor rights protection in Armenia, thus
assisting the Armenian companies in attracting more capital for their
development needs.

In January 2008, Nordic exchange operator OMX Group acquired 100%
of shares of the Armenian Stock Exchange (Armex) and the Central
Depository of Armenia (CDA). After the combination of NASDAQ and OMX
in February 2008, Armex and CDA have become fully owned by the NASDAQ
OMX Group, Inc.

On January 27, 2009, "Armenian Stock Exchange" OJSC was officially
renamed as "NASDAQ OMX Armenia" OJSC. On June 5, 2009, "NASDAQ OMX
Armenia" OJSC became the owner of 100% of the shares of the "Central
Depository of Armenia" OJSC.

GEORGIANS VIOLATE JAVAKHETI ARMENIANS RIGHTS PRIOR TO SAAKASHVILI’S VISIT TO YEREVAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
23.06.2009 16:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgian authorities’ consistent policy aimed at
violating the rights of the Armenian population of Samtskhe-Javakheti
has recently acquired coarser and more vivid manifestations. Georgian
National Security Council recently interrogated Javahk’s school
teachers preparing to leave for Armenia for trainings, "Yerkir"
union reported to PanARMENIAN.Net.

"The continue violating the rights of political activist Vahagn
Chakhalyan who was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on April 7,
2009. Besides, RA NA parliamentarian Shirak Torosyan who is well known
for his public speeches devoted to Javahk Armenians was denied entry
to Georgia without any explanation," the union says in a statement.

Concerned over the increasing dissatisfaction in Armenia, Diaspora
and international community, Georgian authorities intensified
persecutions against Armenians prior to President Saakashvili’s visit
to Armenia. In this way, they attempt to reiterate their unyielding
stance on Armenians of Javahk and impose new concessions of Armenia
through economic pressures.

" ‘Yerkir’ union calls on Georgian authorities to refrain
from persecution policy, as it may intensify existing
dissatisfactions. Hence, Georgian authorities’ attempts to transfer
Javahk issue to the level of intergovernmental relations will be
doomed to failure," runs the statement.

The union states that Armenian authorities, different structures
in Armenia and Diaspora, as well as international organizations are
obliged to implement effective steps towards eliminating the deepening
crisis in Javahk and resolving Armenian population’s problems in
compliance with international norms of protecting human rights and
ethnic minorities.

SUPPLY OF NATURAL GAS TO ARMENIA RESTORED

ARMENPRESS
June 23, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 22, ARMENPRESS: The supply of natural gas to Armenia
has been restored at 13:15, June 21, said the press secretary of
"ArmRusgasprom" company Shushan Sardaryan. The flow of natural gas to
Armenia was temporarily suspended because of the construction works of
3.6 km length Ghazakh-Saguramo sector in the Georgian territory. These
works will contribute to the increase of reliability of Armenian
gas supply.

During the mentioned period the gas supply of Armenia was ensured from
the Abovian underground gas-store station without any restrictions.

IMF APPROVES INCREASE IN ARMENIA’S FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO $822.7 MILLION

ARMENPRESS
June 23, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS: The Executive Board of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the first review of Armenia’s
economic performance under a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) and approved
an increase in the IMF’s financial support to an amount equivalent to
SDR 533.6 million (about US$822.7 million; or 580 percent of Armenia’s
quota). An official from the IMF Armenian office told Armenpress that
these decisions enable the immediate release of SDR 102.7 million
(about US$158.3 million), bringing the total disbursed to SDR 264.2
million (about US$400 million). The Board also granted a waiver of
performance criteria on net banking system credit to the government
and the program’s fiscal balance.

The revised arrangement will support the government’s economic
program amid a sharperthan-expected impact from the global financial
crisis. The 28-month SBA was approved on March 6.

The key objectives of the program are to help Armenia adjust to the
external shock, maintain confidence in the currency and the financial
system, and protect the poor. The sharp contraction in economic
activity, the fall in remittances, an increase in unemployment,
and difficult conditions in credit markets require an easing of
macroeconomic policies and the implementation of several measures to
stimulate domestic demand and create new jobs.

Following the Executive Board’s discussion on Armenia, Mr. Murilo
Portugal, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, stated:
"Since the approval of the stand-by arrangement in March 2009,
the external economic outlook has deteriorated significantly
for Armenia. Falling private transfers and capital inflows have
aggravated external imbalances and affected household incomes and
investor confidence. Construction activity, the main driver of growth
in previous years, has collapsed, and the economy is experiencing a
deep contraction.

"The additional financial assistance from the Fund will help cover
Armenia’s growing financing needs, while the recalibration of the
authorities’ economic program will help them better respond to the
deepening downturn. The program envisages an easing of monetary and
fiscal policy to mitigate the severity of the crisis, while laying
the ground for future fiscal consolidation primarily through one-off
investment expenditures and measures to strengthen tax policy and
administration. The authorities remain firmly committed to achieving
the program’s objectives of adjusting to the changed external
environment, supporting confidence in the currency and the banking
system, and protecting the poor.

"Following the successful return to a flexible exchange rate, monetary
policy will focus on maintaining low inflation. With the fall in
inflation rates, the recent reductions of policy interest rates are
appropriate. In addition, the authorities are taking active measures to
provide liquidity to the banking system and help resume lending. Fiscal
policy will provide crucial support by accelerating growth-enhancing
investment in infrastructure and strengthening social safety nets.

"As external conditions improve in 2010, growth is expected to
resume gradually. The short-term outlook remains, however, very
challenging. Continued reforms will be necessary to boost the
medium-term growth potential of the economy, including efforts to
improve the business climate, completion of the unfinished tax policy
and tax administration reform agenda, and progress on financial sector
reforms," M Portugal said.

UAE FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT ARMENIA

armradio.am
19.06.2009 17:53

On June 20 the delegation headed by the Foreign Minister of the United
Arab Emirates, Abdallah Bin Zayid Al Nahyan, will arrive in Armenia
on a two-day official visit.

Within the framework of the visit the UAE delegation is expected to
have meetings with the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, Speaker
of the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan and Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian.

During the meetings reference will be made to the Armenia-UAE
trade-economic relations. The agreement on "Provision of lands for
founding diplomatic representations in the Republic of Armenia and
the United Arab Emirates" and the memorandum of understanding on
"Lifting the requirement for persons having diplomatic passports to
receive a visa" will be signed.

THIRD ARMENIAN TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS CONFERENCE HELD

Noyan Tapan
June 18, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian government has proclaimed
tourism a priority sector of the economy, and it is taking steps
to turn the country into an excellency center of this sphere. So
the government attaches importance to holding Armenian Tourism
Competitiveness Conferences, which open an opportunity to discuss once
again the approaches to the sector’s development. RA Deputy Minister
of Economy Vahe Danielian stated this in his speech of welcome at
the 3rd annual Armenian Tourism Competitiveness Conference on June
18. This year’s conference is entitled "Towards Crisis Solutions".

The conference is hosted by the USAID-funded Competitive Armenian
Private Sector (CAPS) Project. Its Director Hayley Alexander said that
the conference subject of targeted marketing in international market
is a key one. In his opinion, success was achieved in this direction,
particilarly in terms of cooperation with France. The CAPS director
also focused on the use of information technologies in tourism and the
coordinated work of the bodies responsible for the sector’s development
such as the RA Ministry of Economy, the Armenian Tourism Development
Agency (ATDA) and the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia
(NCFA) – other organizers of the event.

The USAID Armenia Office Head Ms. Jetinder Chima reminded that since
2005 an average annual growth of 20% has been recorded in Armenia’
tourism. However, in her estimation, the sector can grow at a higher
rate. She said that although Armenians are hospitable, foreign tourists
spend little money in Armenia because "those who sell goods do not
speak and smile". She expressed an opinion that Armenia’s tourism
can also be encouraged by the formation and sale of budgetary –
cheap travel packages.

The ATDA CEO Nina Hovnanian-Alexanian expressed satisfaction with
the fact that Armenia’s tourism is growing, whereas all over the
world tourism is suffering a decline due to the global financial and
economic crisis. By official statistics, the number of tourists to
Armenia rose by 2.8% in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the
same period of the previous year and made 86,569.