INVESTMENTS IN BTA INVEST BANK TO MAKE 30 MLN DOLLARS BY LATE 2005
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. On August 22, the presentation of BTA
Invest Bank (former Midinvestbank) took place. 48.9% of the bank
shares were acquired by Turan Alem Bank (Kazakhstan) in May
2005. According to Eric Sultankulov, Turan Alem Bank’s Financial
Director, it is envisaged to make investments of about 30 mln USD by
late 2005, including 10 mln USD in the sphere of mortgage crediting.
It was noted that as of June 30, BTA Invest Bank’s assets made 1 bln
118.9 mln drams (about 2.4 mln USD), its overall capital – 878.8 mln
drams with the authorized capital of 1.1 bln drams. To recap, under
CBA normatives, starting July 1, the minimum amount of the authorized
capital of the Armenian banks shall be 5 mln US dollar (in drams). The
assets of Turan Alem Bank – BTA Invest Bank’s biggest investor – make
about 5.5 bln USD, with its own capital exceeding 600 mln USD. The
bank’s partners are BTA-Kazan (Russia), BTA Trans Bank (Ukraine),
Astana Eximbank (Belarus) and BTA Silk Road Bank (Georgia). Besides
Turan Alem Bank, BTA Invset Bank’s shareholders are the Austrain
company ZRL (31.1%) and the Kazakhstanian-Armenian company Mobilex
(20%).

NAIRI UNION MEMBERS PLACE MEMORIAL PLAQUE ON 90th ANNIVERSAY OF
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN JAN STON FIELD
TEHRAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On August 19, the
members of the Armenian cultural union Nairi and a group of young men,
accompanied by the Iranian Armenian mountaineers, ascended the field
Jan Ston of the Fashami region. According to the newspaper “Alik”
(Tehran), the 90-member group placed there a memorial plaque in memory
of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

REPAIRS OF AKHTAMAR AROUSE INTEREST OF ARMENIAN AND FOREIGN TOURISTS
ISTANBUL, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Osman Bekleye from
Van wrote in “Milliet” that repairs of the church in Akhtamar has
become the reason for many tourists to visit Akhtamar and watch the
repairs work. The work started on June 20 and since that day,
Armenians from various countries have come to Akhtamar with the aim of
watching the church repairs. According to the newspaper “Marmara”,
Jahid Zeytanl, the head of the organization in charge of repair work,
noted that a lot of Armenians arrive in the island every day to follow
the process of construction work there.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN DRAM DEPRECIATION IS CONDITIONED BY A FALL IN PRICES OF
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, CBA CHAIRMAN SAYS
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The depreciation of the Armenian dram
over the last two months has been mainly conditioned by a fall in the
prices of agricultural products. This is how Chairman of the Central
Bank of Armenia (CBA) Tigran Sargsin explained the Armenian dram
depreciation at the August 22 presentation of BTA Invest Bank.
According to him, the effects on the currency exchange rate are
numerous and multifarious, ranging from the ratio of demand to supply
on the domestic market to processes taking place on iternational
markets. The speaker indicated that the reduction of the excessive
dollar liquidity in the global economy has gradually led to a growth
in dollar savings. At the same time, the dollar’s profitablity against
the euro has sharply risen in the market. According to T. Sargsian,
the profitabilty of the euro has remained the same, whereas that of
the dollar has increased from 1% to 3.5%.

Azartac news agency, Baku
22 Aug 05
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received the president of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE], Rene van der
Linden, at the presidential palace on 22 August.
The head of state recalled his meeting with Linden in Warsaw and said
that the meeting, which was important, discussed a number of issues of
mutual interest. The president noted that a lot was being done to
democratize society and expressed the hope that during the visit the
PACE head will familiarize himself with the developments in the
country.
Linden expressed his support for the process of reforms conducted by
the Council of Europe in the country. He noted that the resolution of
the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is the most
important issue for Azerbaijan and voiced his satisfaction with the
steps taken to resolve the conflict peacefully.
He noted that he had discussed the issue with the Armenian side during
his visit to Armenia and expressed the hope that the conflict will
soon be settled.
The meeting discussed a range of other issues of mutual interest.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MEETING OF FOREIGN MINISTERS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN SCHEDULED FOR
AUGUST 24 IN MOSCOW
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. Vartan Oskanian, the RA Foreign
Minister will leave for Moscow on August 22 to participate in the
regular session of the CIS Foreign Ministers’ Council starting on
August 23. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry’s
Press and Information Department, a meeting of the Foreign Ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen’s
participation is scheduled for August 24.

AMONG CIS COUNTRIES, ARMENIA HAS BIGGEST MARGIN BETWEEN INTEREST RATES
OF RESOURCES ATTRACTED TO AND INVESTED IN ITS BANKING SYSTEM
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. Chairman of the Central Bank of
Armenia (CBA) Tigran Sargsian said at the August 22 presentation of
BTA Invest Bank that among the CIS countries, Armenia has the biggest
difference between the interest rates of the resources attracted to an
invested in its banking system. He pointed out the necessity of
creating a fair competition field for all the Armenian commercial
banks, which will in turn lead to the reduction of this margin. “The
bank customers will benefit most,” T. Sargsian noted. According to CBA
Chairman, there is no restriction on investments in the RA banking
capital. Moreover, the more regulated the banking system, the more
interest foreign investors show in it. It was also noted that recently
the CBA conducted negotiations with the European Bank of
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in order to introduce the
concept of corporate management in the banking system. According to
EBRD experts, the concept’s introduction will sharply increase the
interest in the Armenian banking system.

Armenian president says his country not turning away from Russia
.c The Associated Press
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Armenian President Robert Kocharian said
Monday that the Caucasus Mountain nation has no intention of turning
away from its ally Russia, and called speculation of a westward shift
unfounded.
The talk of Armenia seeking to shun Russia in favor of the West is
“the fruit of sick imagination and narrow thinking,” Kocharian said
during a televised news conference with visiting Georgian President
Mikhail Saakashvili.
The two met at Lake Sevan, in the mountains some 60 kilometers (37
miles) east of the capital, Yerevan, and discussed economic
cooperation, international issues and other matters including the
situation for Georgia’s sizable ethnic Armenian population.
Saakashvili has steered his country westward since his 2004 election,
and sought to shed Russian influence. The leaders of Ukraine and
Moldova, two other former Soviet republics, have made similar moves.
Armenia is Russia’s closest ally in the Caucasus region, and has much
warmer relations with Moscow than Georgia does. Russia maintains a
military base in Armenia, though it has begun withdrawing two bases
from Georgia after prodding from Georgia and the West.
08/22/05 16:14 EDT

ANDRANIK MARGARIAN: “DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE STARTS NEW STAGE OF
ARMENIAN NEWEST HISTORY”
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. “The Declaration of Independence of
Armenia adopted on August 23, 1990, as a matter of fact, started a new
stage in the Armenian newest history: expressing the common will of
the people of Armenia, the start of the process of establishing an
independent state was declared.” This is said in RA Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian’s congratulation message on the occasion of the
15th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of
the Republic of Armenia. The text was submitted to Noyan Tapan by the
RA NA Public Relations Department. Then the message reads: “In a year,
in September, the independent Republic of Armenia was already a
reality fixed as a result of a public referendum. Further efforts were
led to fulfilment of national goals of the declaration of independence
and main principles as a result of what, overcoming many difficulties,
our state of already 14 years old advances confidently, assuring in
his devotion to humane values and strengthening basis of our state
year by year. Since its independence, wide opportunities have been
created for integration in the civilized world and walking concomitant
with it, establishment of equal in rights mutual relations with other
states and peoples, at the same time, for keeping our identity,
securing it and fulfilling national dreams, for inheriting a powerful
and prosperous Armenia to our generations. Even today, in a dozen of
years, we can say surely that the Declaration of Independence was a
clearly realized choice based on the hard but heroic struggle to keep
the Armenian freedom-loving soul in generations and to reach the
desired day of independence of those devoted to the independence
during the previous decates, and before it as well. On the occasion of
this day important for all of us, let’s congratulate each other and
bend down before the saint memory of the martyrs for independence. I
am sure that we shall be able to secure the approaches of the passed
difficult way with joint efforts, to add them new ones, confront all
challenges and continue our march of independence firmly.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Imedi TV, Tbilisi
22 Aug 05
[Presenter] At a businesslike meeting without neckties on Lake Sevan,
the Georgian and Armenian presidents [Mikheil Saakashvili and Robert
Kocharyan] today discussed new prospects for partnership and economic
cooperation. [Passage omitted]
[Correspondent] Among the issues discussed were railways, tourism and
construction projects. There were no major surprises at the talks but
they nevertheless marked a new phase in bilateral relations.
[Kocharyan, speaking to journalists in Russian, with Saakashvili by
his side] I think the range of issues is well known. We did not invent
anything new. In principle, I believe that neighbours should always
find a pretext to meet regularly, at least several times a year, both
formally and informally.
[Saakashvili, in Georgian] The more transport links there are, the
better. For example, we want to have daily flights between Yerevan and
Batumi next summer.
Why have Armenians started to visit Georgia? Because there are no
longer traffic police on the roads to stop them. It means more money
for the Georgian economy and many new opportunities.
Let’s take the food processing industry. Armenia already does this
well, while Georgia is just starting to do it. Here, there are also
many banking structures that operate well. Or take, for example, the
construction industry. At present, far more residential houses are
being built in Yerevan than in Tbilisi. A construction boom is yet to
start in Tbilisi.
We have a lot of potential, a lot of potential that can be used very
well. So, there is a lot here to see, how they do things. There are
many things we can do very well. We must work on all these issues.
[Correspondent] There was one subject the two presidents treated with
caution. How will the Russian president react to their meeting?
Kocharyan was rather diplomatic in his answer to this question from
our journalist.
[Question] Friendship between the presidents of Georgia and Armenia is
essential for peace in the region. Do you think this is also the
opinion of Mr Putin, the president of Russia?
[Kocharyan] I agree that personal relations and friendship between
presidents is an important prerequisite for establishing fruitful
bilateral relations. I understand that President Putin also attaches a
lot of importance to personal relations and contacts. He and I have
developed good, friendly relations.
When I say contacts, I mean tourism, trips, friendship, business and
common interests. All this has to be built. As a rule, all this cannot
be built in a day or two. Although all this can be ruined in a day or
two. [Kocharyan and Saakashvili laugh]
[Correspondent] The informal meeting ended without too much pomp and
ceremony. The [Georgian] president and defence minister left the
residence in the second half of the day.
[Passage omitted]