UNDP, ARMENIAN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY LAUNCH UN REPORT ON THE
ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR PERISHED SOLDIERS FAMILIES
ArmenPress
25 Oct. 2004
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS: Today, at the Congress Hotel in
Yerevan Karen Chshmaritian, Minister of Trade and Economic Development
of Armenia, Kalman Mizsei, Assistant Secretary-General and UN
Development Program (UNDP) Assistant Administrator and Director of the
Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS), and Arsen Ghazarian, President of the Union of Manufacturers and
Businessmen of Armenia, launched the Unleashing Entrepreneurship report
prepared by a blue-ribbon commission at the request of Mr. Kofi Annan,
the UN Secretary-General. This important global report focuses on the
role of the private sector in development and calls on governments,
international organizations and businesses to work together to
help the private sector reduce poverty. The authors of the report,
prominent scholars and former senior state and business leaders,
analyze the links between entrepreneurship and attainment of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed by world country leaders
in 2000. The main findings of the report are as follows: Domestic
private initiative and entrepreneurship have enormous potential but
are often trapped in disabling business environments.
To unleash the potential of the private sector, Governments need
to create enabling environments for competitive private sector
development by ensuring a strong rule of law and equal opportunities
for businesses.
Businesses can be major actors in the worldwide struggle to reduce
poverty and promote the environment by working through public-private
partnerships. The report is relevant for Armenia where the transition
from a planned state-owned economy to a market economy is progressing
rapidly. Today, 85 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is
produced by the private sector, and small and medium-sized enterprises
account for 35 percent of GDP. Despite significant economic successes,
however, the country still needs to ensure a more enabling environment
for the full unleashing of Armenia’s business potential. At the
ceremony, Mr. Mizsei noted: “UNDP is proud to present this report to
the major business leaders of Armenia. We strongly believe that through
pubic-private partnerships such the ones already initiated in your
country by our office in Yerevan and several major private companies,
we can achieve the Millennium Goals in Armenia and, importantly,
promote a better business environment in the country.” “Armenia’s
economic successes for the last years are noteworthy, but there is
still much to do in the country both in terms of reducing poverty as
well as upgrading business ethics and practices in line with the best
international standards,” Mr. Ghazarian pointed out. Mr. Kalman Mizsei
is on an official visit to Armenia from 23 to 26 October 2004. In
his current position, Mr. Mizsei oversees operations and programs of
UNDP field offices covering 30 countries in the region. Prior to his
current position, Mr. Mizsei has worked as a senior official in the
banking and financial sectors and as a senior advisor to governments
of the region on their economic transition and reform. He was born
in Budapest, Hungary. Mr. Mizsei holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the
Budapest University of Economics. He is fluent in Hungarian (native),
English, Polish and German, and speaks Russian.