Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

WORLD BANK TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FINANCING OF 36.6 MILLION DOLLARS FOR LIFELINE ROADS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Sep 1, 2009

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. The World Bank’s Board of Executive
Directors made a decision last week to allocate an additional sum of
36.6 million USD for the Lifeline Roads Improvement Project (LRIP)
in Armenia.

The project will help rehabilitate about 140 km of lifeline roads in
seven marzes (provinces).

According to a report of the World Bank Armenia Office, the project
will assist the Armenian government with the improvement of the
country’s main road network and the creation of jobs in the medium
term. It will also allow mitigating the impact of the global economic
crisis on the country’s economy and population.

USA HOPES FOR TANGIBLE RESULT IN NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS SOON: MARIE L. YOVANOVITCH

ArmInfo
2009-08-31 14:55:00

ArmInfo. U.S. President Barack Obama in his traditional speech on April
24 was very clear in his view regarding this issue (incidents of 1915
in Ottoman Turkey) as well as on ways to move this process forward,
said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Marie L. Yovanovitch, commenting at
the request of ArmInfo on the process of recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the USA .

She said that very important negotiations are underway between Armenia
and Turkey and the USA supports this process as well as opening of
the border.

The Ambassador added that rapprochement Armenia and Turkey is important
both to Turkey and Armenia as well as to the region. The United States
hope for tangible result in this process soon, Ambassador said.

MEDIEVAL CHURCH DISCOVERED IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am

A ug 31 2009
Armenia

The specialists of the Tourism Department, Government of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) discovered ruins of a church and
khachkars (cross-stones) on the slope of a hill in the village of
Krkzhan, to the south of Stepanakert.

The village of Krkzhan is famous for its archeological
finds. Archeologists found pitchers there before, and different
articles can be found during construction work now. It is noteworthy
that, in his book entitled Artsakh, Archbishop Markar Barkhudaryan
mentions St. Stephen Church located there. The old residents of
Krkzhan told about the church, but the young ones have not seen it.

During the Soviet times the rapidly increasing Azerbaijani population
in the village was ousting the Armenian elements toward Stepanakert.

The newly discovered building is evidence of Azerbaijanis’ attempts
to blot out every trace of an Armenian church and cross-stones. The
church was probably used as a cattle shed, and the cross-stones were
broken to pieces, say the specialists.

Sergey Shahverdyan, Head of the Tourism Department, said that an
archeologist will be involved in the cleaning work at the church. At
present, the specialists plan to clean the 12 meters high and five
meters wide church building (a limestone structure with a baptistry)
as well as the cross-stones and prepare them for the 10th anniversary
of the re-establishment of the Armenian Church in the NKR.

Minister predicts 10-15% full-year economic decline

YEREVAN, August 29, /ARKA/. Armenia’s finance minister Tigran Davtian
argued today that the country’s full-year economic contraction will be
within 10-15%. In response to a question from ARKA news agency the
minister, who was speaking at a news conference at Novosti
international press center, said the full-year economic showing will
not be as worse as in the first seven months of the year, when the GDP
fell 18.5%.

The minister explained that a wide forecast gap is due to different
models of gauging up indices which involve a set of different factors.

`Economy is a very complex structure and to have in mind all factors is
actually impossible,’ he said, adding that a 10-15% outlook is close to
forecasts of international organizations. M.M. -0-

ECONOMIST PREDICTS 12%-14% FULL-YEAR ECONOMIC DECLINE

ARKA
Aug 26, 2009

YEREVAN, August 26, /ARKA/. Manuk Yerghnyan, head of Economy and Values
think-tank and the managing partner of EV Consulting, predicted today
a 12-14% full-year economic contraction of the Armenian economy,
but declined to make an economic forecast for the next year, saying
the country’s GDP may either fall by 2% or rise as much.

In an exclusive interview with ARKA news agency, he said the economic
recovery is not likely in the second half of the year. According
to him, the slump in some sectors may even deepen and some large
companies may face serious difficulties in servicing their loans.

"I do not think we shall see a chain reaction; the level of financial
mediation in Armenia is the lowest among other transitional countries,’
he said, adding that the government emergency assistance to some
companies is expected to have a positive effect on the economy.

Earlier this month Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said the anti-crisis
measures taken by the government should result in a slowdown of the
decline later this year that would ultimately have made only 12% t
annually. The premier said the government also expected the Armenian
economy to grow by a modest 1% in 2010.

"I think the period of adaptation to current economic situation -I mean
the reduced amount of remittances, foreign investments and exports,
will end in 2009 and we=2 0shall see a more stable situation in 2010,
‘Yerghnyan said.

According to official figures of Armenian Central Bank, the amount of
remittances sent by Armenians working abroad to relatives in Armenia
via banks in the first six months of the year slashed by 33.2%
year-on-year to $446.7 million.

Armenia’s foreign trade in January-July fell 32.7% year-on-year to
707.9 billion Drams ($2.013. billion). Exports were down by 44.5%
to $352 million and imports reduced by almost 30% to $1.661 billion.

In a comment on a 15% economic decline of the Armenian economy
predicted by Fitch Ratings, Yergnyan said it is perhaps the worst
scenario.

According to the latest official figures, the country’s economy
continued to decline in July amid a deepening fallout from the global
recession, showing a 18.5% Gross Domestic Product contraction in the
seven months of 2009. ($1 – 375,39 дÑ~@амР°).

AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE MINISTRY RESPONDS TO ARMENIAN MINISTER’S THREAT

Today,Az
/55035.html
Aug 27 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has responded to Armenian Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanyan’s threat of war.

Spokesman for the ministry Eldar Sabiroglu said it was not the first
similar statement by Ohanyan.

"It is unreasonable, because the international community exerts
influence on Armenia to solve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within
the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. The leadership
of Armenian army makes this kind of statements to mislead the people
and hide people’s distrust to the army. Azerbaijan has a very strong
army and is ready to prevent any aggression," he said.

Sabiroglu said there are two ways of solving the conflict and did
not rule out war, in case the occupied territories are not freed
peacefully.

"There are two ways of solution, peace or war. Azerbaijan does not
want bloodshed. We support peaceful settlement of the problem. But if
it is impossible, Azerbaijan is capable of liberating its lands. This
aggression can not last for ever," he said.

TIGRAN DAVTYAN: BUDGET SEQUESTRATION INAPPROPRIATE IN CRISIS

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.08.2009 16:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In a crisis, the budget sequestration is impractical,
because if the economy is in a recession, it is important to increase
spending and pursue expansive policies, Tigran Davtyan ,Armenia’s
minister of finance told a press conference in Yerevan today.

According to him, since the state is a serious player in the economy,
its task in these circumstances is to attract additional resources
and increase costs, like all the world countries do, if feasible.

"Despite the decline in incomes all over the world, governments
try not to reduce costs in order to stimulate the economy. Reduced
costs will mean a further negative impact on the GDP of the country,"
Mr. Davtyan explained.

In this context, in case of sequestration and reduction of income,
a decline in GDP for the past seven months in Armenia would surpass
18.5 per cent. As Tigran Davtyan stressed, the government of Armenia
has reduced the income of the budget and increased its expenditure, and
it was decided to compensate the gap at the expense of borrowed funds.

KIM KARDASHIAN IS CREATING NEW REALITY SERIES

Examiner.com
Aug 28 2009

Kim Kardashian is one of the hottest celebs in Hollywood. Kim knows
fashion, the glamour, and everything in between. But what does this
fab reality star now have in mind? Her very own reality show of
course, and no, its not another "Keeping Up With The Kardashains,"
or "Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami."

The sexy Armenian star who recently went blonde told Access Hollywood
that she is "creating and executive producing" a reality show
about public relations. Kardashian also went on the record that she
also wanted to be behind the camera. The starlet said, "I’ve always
wanted to get into producing. After my reality show is done, the next
step is producing. I definitely see myself in the producing chair,"
Kim said. "I’ve definitely seen the ins and outs of reality TV. I
definitely love reality TV shows. It’s something I’m passionate about."

The "untitled" show will be following her famous PR friends "Jonathan
Cheban and Simon Huck of Command Public Relations." Kim also told
Access Hollywood, "Every week we’ll have a different celebrity and
a different crisis and drama."

Kardashian’s creativity has been produced by Bunim and Murray
Productions, which is also credited by the two other Kardashian Shows,
as well as "The Real World" and "Project Runway." The pilot for the
show has already been shot, where the "untitled" reality show will
air next year.

AMBASSADOR VAHAGN MELIKYAN MEETS WITH CHAIRMAN OF UAE PARLIAMENT

ARMENPRESS:
August 26, 2009
Yerevan

Chairman of the parliament of the United Arab Emirates Abd al-Aziz
Abdallah al-Ghureyr received August 25 Armenian ambassador to UAE
Vahagn Melikyan.

Armenian Foreign Ministry’s Media and Information Department told
Armenpress the ambassador conveyed the message-invitation of the
Armenian NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan which was gratefully accepted
by the chairman.

During the meeting the parties discussed issues of cooperation of the
parliaments of the two countries, creation of parliamentary friendship
groups as well as prospects of development of bilateral relations.

With the request of Al-Ghureyr the ambassador presented the main
directions of Armenia’s foreign policy and regional policy. The
chairman of the UAE parliament noted that he is interested in the
development of relations with Armenia and it is necessary to undertake
necessary steps in that direction.

CENTRAL BANK OF ARMENIA PUTS INTO CIRCULATION NOTES WITH 100,000AMD VALUE

ARKA
Aug 25, 2009

YEREVAN, August 25. /ARKA/. According to the decision of the Board
of the Central Bank of Armenia made on August 24, a bank note with
a value of 100,000AMD is put into circulation, said member of the
Board Vakhtang Abrahamyan.

"It is our next step in the consistent policy of providing cash
turnover aimed at servicing businesses arranging big deals," Abrahamyan
told reporters.

He noted the 50,000AMD note put into circulation a few years ago took
its own niche and services around 7% of cash deals. Abrahamyan also
said the Armenian economy had a demand for 100,000AMD note due to
big bargains and necessity to diversify nominal values of bank notes.

"We think 100,000AMD note will take 3% niche in the cash turnover,"
Abrahamyan stressed.

CBA numismatist Gevorg Mughalyan in his turn stated the bank note is
very attractive from the view of numismatics by its theme and design.

He noted the front of the note has a fragment of icon of Mkrtum
Hovnatanyan – appearance of Abgar the Fifth Edessian king who according
to Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi was the first of Armenian
kings to adopt Christianity.

"A fragment of a map showing the location of Edessia which was very
close to historical Armenia is in the background," he said.

Mughalyan noted the reverse side of the bank note has an image of an
ancient canvas being kept in Vatican which narrates how King Abgar
the Fifth being sick turned to Jesus Christ who gave him a piece of
cloth with his vivid picture through St. Thaddeus Apostle.

Head of the CBA payment system and money turnover department Suren
Simonyan said the 50,000AMD note was taken as an example of the most
secure from counterfeit and falsification which has been perfected
several times.

"For the first time in the history of Armenian bank notes we have
used so called four-color gravure which is technically very hard to
implement and gives additional guard to the note," he stressed.

Simonyan added he is sure the bank note corresponds to international
standards. ($1 – 375.28AMD).