government of Ar- The Economist “Arme- menia amends Law on nia economy: Television and Radio Recovery mode” PAGE 3 PAGE 4 ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS

Weekly Digest of the Government of Armenia

10 - 16 May, 2010 THEMA

“Quote of the week”

“We want Internet to be used www.president.am also as a source of knowledge in Armenia. That is why we sup- port development of thematic blogs in Armenia” Vardan Papikyan Head of Armenian Blog Feeds site project

President Serzh Sargsyan received the President of the PACE Upcoming Events

May 17: Chzeck Prime Minis- n May 12 the President We are ready and willing to expand our ter Jan Fisher to visit Armenia Oof the Republic of Arme- cooperation and strengthen our rela- nia Serzh Sargsyan received on tions,” the President of Armenia noted. May 21: PM Tigran Sargsyan the President of the Parliamen- Movlut Cavusoglu said that as the to participate in the meeting tary Assembly of the Council newly-elected President of PACE of the Counsil of the Heads of Europe, Movlut Cavusoglu. he views the enhancement of the of CIS Governments and Welcoming the guest, the President relations between the Parliamen- EurAsEC 26-th meeting in of Armenia expressed hope that the tary Assembly and the member Sankt-Petersburg visite of the PACE delegation head- states as a priority in his activities. ed by Mr. Cavusoglu would allow to He also believes that all countries May 25 - 26: Concert of see first hand and give a more ob- should be treated equally and impar- "Deep Purple" in Yerevan jective assessment to the challenges tially and ruled out the application present in Armenia and in the region. of ‘’double standards’’. The Presi- May 28: Armenia marks Re- “This visit is a good opportunity to dent of PACE also noted that he has public day discuss also the items on our agenda, been working actively with the Arme- and I am confident that it will pro- nian delegation in PACE. He hailed June 26 - July 6: International mote a deeper cooperation between Armenia’s progress in democracy Open Chess Tournament in Armenia and the Council of Europe, building and fight against corruption. Jermuk particularly, between the National AH Assembly of Armenia and the PACE. www.president.am ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS CHRONICA RA PM and FAO Director-general discuss the pros- ChRonicles of pects of implementing joint projects the week cooperation in the direction of developing infrastructures for irrigation and reserv- • MAY 11: Newly appointed Belgian ing, producing agricultural means (seeds, Ambassador to Armenia Stephane De pest killers), as well as creating market Loecker handed his credentials to Ar- management system to be quite prospec- menian President Serzh Sargsyan. tive. RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan AH emphasized the importance of FAO ex- • MAY 12: Armenian Foreign perts’ participation in public discussions Minister Edward Nalbandy- on conception of agricultural development. an holds meetings in Strasburg In this context, the FAO Director-general AH represented the international practice. The A Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan re- • MAY 12-13 The World Bank speakers also stressed the importance of Rceived today Jacques Diouf, Director- hosted the Fourth Donors’ Coordi- implementing complex projects for the de- general of the Food and Agriculture Organ- nation Meeting on Transport Per- velopment of villages, which will have a ization of the United Nations (FAO). An spectives in the South Caucasus good influence of decentralization of agri- official from the press and PR office of RA AH culture. Issues on the works for the 27th Government told Armenpress that Tigran • MAY 14: Deputy Assistant Sec- conference of FAO Sub regional Offices for Sargsyan welcomed the guest and said he retary for Bureau of European and Central and Eastern Europe and for Central appreciates the efficient cooperation be- Eurasian Affairs, Ms. Tina Kaidanow Asia were touched upon as well. Director- tween the Republic of Armenia and FAO. will meet with Armenian President general of FAO Jacques Diouf expressed He also mentioned that Armenia is interest- Serzh Sargsyan and Foreign Min- his gratitude for organizing the confer- ed in deepening the cooperation. Speaking ister Edward Nalbandian to discuss ence, held in Yerevan May 13-14, properly. on the forthcoming joint projects, the two regional and international issues as www.armenpress.am sides stated they consider the deepening of well as Armenian-American relations. AH • MAY 14: Yerevan hosted politi- Armenian Blog Feeds site includes around 110 blogs cal consultations between the Ar- menian and Romanian Foreign rmenian Blog Feeds site, which is cre- Ministries. The parties referred to Aated to systematize the field of Arme- a wide range of bilateral relations. nian blogs, includes around 110 blogs. AH “We want Internet to be used also as a • May 15: The public is invited to par- source of knowledge in Armenia. That is ticipate in a Museum Night interna- why we support development of thematic scoopdog.wordpress.com tional initiative and enjoy a free ad- blogs in Armenia,” Head of the project mission to all galleries of Yerevan. Vardan Papikyan told a PanARMENIAN. AH Net reporter. Mr. Papikyan and expert in in- • May 14-16: Yerevan hosts the sec- formation security, blogger Samvel Marti- LiveJournal system,” Martirosyan said. ond international comics festival. rosyan believe that there are around 500 ac- However, Blogspot and Wordpress plat- AH tive bloggers in Armenia. According to the forms start enjoying greater popularity in results of unofficial census conducted by Armenia today. “It is more convenient to Martirosyan for the fourth time on his blog, monetize, index blogs at these platforms. LiveJournal system includes 190 Armenian Besides, the access to international audi- Armenia in the pages of bloggers worldwide. “These are those blog- ence is easier through them,” Samvel Mar- Austrian Airines Skyline gers, who have disclosed their names, mak- tirosyan said. magazine ing around 10% of all Armenian bloggers in www.pamarmenian.net ustrian Airlines Skyline mag- 3 Armenian chess play- Armenia assists Tajikistan Aazine of the Austrian Air- ers to participate in U.S. in overcoming floods conse- quences lines published an article dedi- Championship cated to Armenia, at the initiative he Armenian government will allo- of the Austrian Embassy in Ar- randmasters Varuzhan Hakobyan, Tcate $100,000 to assist Tajikistan in menia and through the assistance GMelikset Khachiyan and international overcoming consequences of floods that master Levon Altunyan will participate in of the RA Ministry of Economy. took place in Tajikistan in May 2010. The article describes Armenia’s the U.S. Chess Championship to be held in According to the RA legislation, the historical and cultural heritage, Saint Lious, Missouri, from May 14 to 25. funds will be allocated to the RA Minis- The championship will bring together 24 try of Foreign Affairs to provide them to as well as historical traditions in chess players, 20 of whom are grandmasters. the government of Tajikistan. German and English languages, www.pamarmenian.net www.panarmenian.net the press office of the RA MFA. www.panarmenian.net

2 AH ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS RES PUBLICA RA government amends Law on Television and Radio NATO thanks Armenia for participation in mental concept on transfer to digital sys- peacekeeping missions tem of television and radio broadcasting. Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarg- syan stressed that the draft law has passed a relevant international expertise. Besides, the Prime Minister noted that the television and radio field is very sen- sitive, as it is often used for political www.gov.am purposes. He said that the draft law al- n May 13, the Armenian government lows developing political, cultural and Oapproved the draft law on amendment educational TV programs in the country of the RA Law on Television and Radio. to meet the needs of all groups of popu- The draft law includes a range of new ide- lation and to secure effective competition. www.nato.int as and provisions arising from the govern- www.panarmenian.net rmenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian and Minister of AH A Defense Seyran Ohanyan took part in the Yerevan to host pres- MTS establishes 28+1 North Atlantic Council meeting in entation of Polaris direct connection Brussels on May 12. In his speech, Minister Nalbandian dwelled guide on Armenia between Armenia, on Armenia’s foreign policy priorities, Russia Nagorno Karabakh settlement process, Ar- 0-day events aimed to facilitate menian-Turkish rapprochement and secu- 1tourism in the country, provide rity problems in the Caucasus while Min- networking opportunities and ex- ister Ohanyan briefed on defense reforms change experience in tourism indus- carries out in the republic. try will kick off in Armenia on May The NATO Deputy Secretary General and 13, the press service of the National representatives of Alliance members as- sessed highly the outcomes of Armenia- Competitiveness Foundation of Ar- NATO Individual Partnership Action menia reported. Plan (IPAP), the reform process as well as The 4th Armenian Tourism Competi- Armenia’s participation in peacekeeping tiveness Conference, CTS2010In- obile Tele Systems (MTS, NYSE: missions and efforts for establishment of ternational Annual Tourism Fair, as MMBT) has announced establish- peace and stability throughout the South well as presentation of Italian Polaris ment of a direct connection between Ar- Caucasus, RA MFA press office reported. guide on Armenia will be organized menia and Russia, MSKIT.ru reported. www.panarmenian.net in the framework of the initiative. “Direct connection will ensure 10% re- AH Besides, the events will include the- duction of traffic termination costs and Private remittances to matic seminars and courses for local guarantee high quality of international Armenia totaled $261.7mln and regional tour operators, as well voice traffic,” said Evgeny Moskalev, in first quarter of 2010 as discussions with participation of MTS Director for Convergence. $261.7mln was transferred to individuals Armenian parliament members and MTS obtained a license for long distance through the Armenian banking system in representatives of relevant minis- communications in 2006. In November January-March 2010. According to the RA tries. 2008, the company commissioned long Central Bank’s monthly bulletin, 0.03% or The events will bring together rep- distance communication network and $86,000 drop was recorded as compared resentatives of tourism industry, obtained a permit from the RF Ministry with the same period of last year. Mean- educational establishments, hotels of Telecommunications and Mass Me- while, Russia keeps the biggest share of remittances to Armenia - $162.8mln, fol- and restaurants, as well as experts dia for internal and long distance traffic and journalists from Armenia, Geor- lowed by the US - $29.5mln and Germany transfer through its own network. As - $4.7mln. The amount of remittances from gia, Turkey and other countries. The a result, it has become possible for the Turkey amounted to $665,000. Besides, the events are organized by the National company to establish direct connections amount of remittances from Armenia totaled Competitiveness Foundation of Ar- with global operators. Previously, ac- $138.6mln in January-March 2009 that is menia, the USAID-funded Competi- cording to regulations in force, MTS had 5.4% higher as compared with the same pe- tive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) to transfer international traffic through riod of 2009. During the reported period, the Project in partnership with the RA long distance operators that in their turn net cash inflow decreased by 5.5% amount- ing to $123.1mln against $130.3mln in Janu- Ministry of Economy. AH established connections with global op- ary-March 2009. www.panarmenian.net erators. AH AH www.panarmenian.net www.panarmenian.net

2 AH ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS PRO PATRIA medvedev optimistic about Armenian-Turkish Armenia economy: relations, Karabakh settlement Recovery mode process of mending relations between the Armenia has begun to recover from its two countries are not easy and find dif- first serious economic crisis since the early ferent response in Turkey and Armenia.” 1990s. Data from the National Statistical

www.rian.ru “Encouraging steps have recently been Service (NSS) reveal that real GDP rose taken to settle the Nagorny Karabakh prob- by 5.5% year on year in the first quarter of lem,” Medvedev noted. “The sides are 2010. Growth was supported by a strong holding meetings, are speaking with each performance in industrial output, which other, certain progress has been reached on was boosted by the rise in international a number of issues, but it does not mean prices for base metals. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev all issues have been agreed. I personally An increase in remittance payments from said on Wednesday he hoped Tur- offered the two presidents my intermedi- Armenians working abroad has also been a key and Armenia will be able to ary services. I hope it will go on. Naturally, contributing factor to the economic recov- “restore full-fledged relations.” other members of the [OSCE] Minsk group ery. The recovery progressively accelerat- “We are closely watching the develop- should make their contributions, but all the ed during this period, with the year-on-year ment of relations [between Ankara and issues should be discussed by the conflicting rate of economic growth standing at 2.4% Yerevan] and hope the positive mo- sides, i.e. Armenia and Azerbaijan, first.” in January and 3.1% in January-February. mentum gained after the signing of rel- The Russian president refused to com- These indicators led the government in late evant documents in Zurich will go on,” ment on “certain disputable aspects” of March to revise its full-year growth fore- Medvedev told a news conference after the Karabakh settlement, saying “the cast for 2010 from 1.2% to 1.8%. None- his talks with Turkish President Abdul- subject requires more scrupulousness.” theless, government officials stated that lah Gul. Although, Medvedev noted, “the www.itar-tass.com growth could exceed their expectations. With real GDP declining by 14.4% year AH on year in 2009, Armenia was among the countries hardest hit by the global reces- Armenia raises rates again to fight inflation sion. The recession reflected the increasing vulnerability of the Armenian economy, Armenia's central bank on Tuesday raised which had grown overly dependent on con- its key refinancing rate by 25 basis points struction, workers’ remittances and higher to 7.25 percent, the fifth hike this year in a global metal prices. In early April the presi- bid to fight inflation. www.cba.am dent, Serzh Sargsyan, said that the econo- The bank said in a statement that annual my was currently in a recovery phase. The inflation in April was 6.8 percent, 2.0 per- finance minister, Tigran Davtian, expects cent lower than in March but still above the recovery to be sluggish at least until the the target of 4.0 percent plus/minus 1.5 second half of 2011. In late February the percentage points. head of the World Bank office in the Ar- The bank said it expected the inflationary menian capital, Yerevan, Aristomene Va- environment to continue and that it would roudakis, likewise cautioned that only the continue to pursue a gradual tightening of acute phase of the crisis is over and that the monetary policy to minimise deviations of ic ally Russia, seeing a sharp fall in remit- economy would probably remain weak for inflation from the target rate. tances and exports and a steep contraction a prolonged period. The World Bank fore- The central bank said in a statement that in the construction sector. casts that real GDP in Armenia will expand tough monetary policy would remain a Armenia's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2% in 2010. priority, but that it would be implemented contracted 14.4 percent in 2009. The gov- First-quarter growth was primarily driven more gradually. ernment has forecast growth in 2010. by a 10.4% year-on-year rise in industrial Armenia's refi rate is one of the central Armenia is drawing on an $823 million output, which contributed nearly one-third bank's monetary instruments and is used loan from the International Monetary of GDP. According to the NSS, production by commercial banks as an indicator for Fund. gains were registered in all the main manu- their own rates. The loan, initially for $540 million, was facturing sectors except food-processing After several years of strong growth, the secured in March 2009 after the Armenian in January-February. At almost Dram63bn landlocked former Soviet republic of 3.2 central bank decided to float the dram cur- (US$163m), the combined output of the million was hit hard by the global econom- rency. AH export-oriented mining and metallurgy sec- ic crisis and by recession in close econom- www.iii.co.uk tors was up by around 27% year on year, AH owing to the continuing rally in the global Gas supplies to Armenia continue - Gazprom prices of copper and other non-ferrous met- als, which began in late 2009. Chemicals as supplies to Armenia continue un- from a reserve underground terminal, a output increased more than threefold in Gabated despite a landslide that dam- spokesman for the Russian Gazprom year-on-year terms, to total Dram2.9bn in aged the Georgian section of a key pipe- company told reporters. Georgian offi- January-February. AH line on Wednesday. Gas is being pumped cials say repairs could take a few days. Full story www.veiwswire.ein.com english.ruvr.ru

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