CENN – NOVEMBER 3, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. Lukoil Probes Azeri Caspian
2. World Bank Official Praises Economic Reforms in Armenia
3. Yerevan Municipality Promises to Ease Commuters’ Problems
4. Armenian Power Grids `No Longer Loss-Making’
5. Armenian Chemical Giant Pronounced `Dead’
6. Armenia, World Bank Cooperating Rather Effectively
7. RA Trade-Industrial Chamber Becomes A Full Member of European Trade
Chamber
8. Project Discovery! Draws Supporters to Gala Event Highlighting its
Archeological Work in Armenia
9. Armenian Industrial Production Up
10. Second Social Services Complex Opens in Armenia
11. Electricity Generation in Armenia Increased by 9.7% in Jan-Sept of
2004
12. UNESCO Holds Seminar Training on Distance Education
13. Representative of Azerbaijan Participated in INT’L Conference on
Adult Education
14. Over 3,200 Delegates Signed Up for the Congress
15. 80 State Members Strong! Iran Becomes an IUCN Member
16. Whose Forest is it Anyway?
1. LUKOIL PROBES AZERI CASPIAN
Source: CBN, Number 3,2 004
Russia’s second largest oil company, Lukoil, started exploration
drilling along the Azeri section of the Caspian Sea, government
officials said last week. “Lukoil has commenced the drilling of the
first exploration well on the offshore D222 bloc,” Vice President of the
State Oil Company (SOCAR) Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh told journalists last
Tuesday
2. WORLD BANK OFFICIAL PRAISES ECONOMIC REFORMS IN ARMENIA
Source: Arminfo, October 29, 2004
Armenia is one of the best users of World Bank loans in the world, which
are being allocated on the International Development Association (IDA)
conditions, the regional director of the World Bank, Donna
Dowsett-Coirolo, said at a press conference in Yerevan today.
She said that a group of World Bank experts had recently come to this
conclusion, evaluating the influence of the bank’s credit programmes on
the country’s economy in the last 10 years. She added that economic
reforms in Armenia are proceeding better than in neighboring Georgia and
Azerbaijan, though high economic growth is recorded in all the South
Caucasus countries this year.
The regional director noted that the economic situation in Georgia would
improve after the tough measures to fight corruption carried out by
President Mikheil Saakashvili, and after the construction of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipelines and Baku-Erzurum gas pipeline in
Azerbaijan. At the same time, she believes that Armenia should also take
tough measures to fight corruption like Georgia, though the situation is
much better here.
Donna Dowsett-Coirolo noted that in the current year six credit
programmes worth 85m dollars had been submitted for approval to the
board of directors, which is the proof of active cooperation between the
World Bank and Armenia. Those are loans for the social, health and
education spheres, pension reforms, reforms in the state sector and
irrigation. The World Bank’s participation in the Armenian government’s
programme to alleviate poverty, which is worth 20m dollars, will be
considered by the board of directors in November. Apart from this, a new
credit programme to the tune of about 20m dollars for agriculture and
another credit programme, worth the same amount, to restore Yerevan’s
water supply system are being prepared. Both programmes are planned to
be submitted for approval to the World Bank board of directors next
spring.
Commenting on the problem of repaying Armenia’s foreign debt, a bigger
portion of which are World Bank loans, the regional director said that
the country could guarantee its repayment, taking into consideration the
economic growth and existing potential to attract domestic and foreign
investment. Anyway, the issue of repaying Armenia’s foreign debt does
not cause concern compared to the situation in other countries, she
said.
To recap, 36 programmes of the World Bank worth a total of 820.8m
dollars have been implemented in Armenia since 1992.
3. YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY PROMISES TO EASE COMMUTERS’ PROBLEMS
Source: ArmenPress, November 1, 2004
A senior official of the Yerevan municipality reiterated today previous
promises to bring some 130 passenger buses from Ukraine and Belarus by
the end of the year to ease commuters’ problems, who often have to wait
for tens of minutes to squeeze into one of mini-buses that can carry a
dozen people only.
Tigran Nazarian, the head of the transport department of the
municipality said 3,000 mini-buses operate in the capital, but they are
not enough to transport passengers, especially in rush hours.
Last year the municipality brought some 30 buses, mainly from France.
Previous state-run bus companies were privatized in 1997 and now there
is only one such company in Yerevan. Mr. Nazarian said companies refuse
to bring buses on grounds that they do not bring profits, as their fares
are 70 drams against 100 drams charged by mini-buses. He said bus fares
might be revised and set at 100 drams.
Tigran Nazarian said also buses will be brought up to 2007 and by that
time Yerevan municipality is expected to run 1000 buses. He said some 20
buses and trolley buses are coming soon from French Lyon.
4. ARMENIAN POWER GRIDS `NO LONGER LOSS-MAKING’
By Atom Markarian
Armenia’s power distribution network, once a huge drain on state
finances, has ceased to incur losses and operates at a profit as a
result of its privatization two years ago, its Russian chief executive
declared on Monday.
Yevgeny Gladunchik said a British-based company that took over the
Armenian Electricity Network (AEN) has managed to cut by half the loss
of electricity during its transmission to consumers.
The losses, which used to be as high as 40 percent, cost the Armenian
government an estimated $50 million each year. At least half of them are
believed to have resulted from widespread theft among various-level
employees of the state-owned network.
Ending the financial hemorrhage was the main stated rationale for the
power grids’ $40 million sale to Midland Resources Holding, a little
known company registered in a British offshore zone and reportedly
linked to a government-connected Armenian businessman. Midland
Resources, which specializes in trade of ferrous metals, was picked as
the new AEN owner despite its lack of energy-related experience. The
World Bank and other Western donors that had long been pushing for the
privatization expressed at the time serious misgivings about its ability
to get the loss-making company into shape.
According to Gladunchik, Midland Resources has proved skeptics wrong by
moving the AEN into profit. However, he refused to disclose the amount
of the earnings and was very reluctant to specify how much his company
has invested in the network, arguing that it assumed no concrete
investment commitments as part of the takeover deal.
`Tell me please why I must reveal that sum. I don’t quite understand why
it bothers you,’ he told journalists before producing a figure: $10
million.
The actual amount of the Midland investments is at the heart of an
unfolding dispute between AEN and the government’s Commission Regulating
Public Services that has the exclusive authority to set utility fees in
Armenia. The regulatory body is now considering lowering AEN’s profit
margin from 8 drams (1.5 U.S. cents) to 5 drams per kilowatt of power,
suspecting the company of inflating its investment figures. Its members
also argue that the company has made $6 million in extra profit as a
result of an approximately 15 percent strengthening of the national
currency, the dram, against the U.S. dollar over the past year.
Gladunchik warned the commission against taking the punitive measure.
`We will close shop if that happens,’ he said. He also argued that his
company has not sought and will not seek an increase in electricity
prices `in the near future.’
5. ARMENIAN CHEMICAL GIANT PRONOUNCED `DEAD’
By Atom Markarian
Armenia’s largest chemical plant struggling to remain afloat since the
Soviet break-up will not after all be brought back to life despite rosy
promises of its most recent owner, it was claimed on Monday.
Nairit, the Yerevan-biased synthetic rubber manufacturer, was purchased
last April by a Russian industrial group, Volgoburmash, that pledged to
restore its Soviet-era production levels with large-scale capital
investments. But according to the Russian head of Armenia’s sole power
utility which is owed 800 million drams ($1.6 million) by Nairit,
Volgoburmash has failed to make good on its promises.
`There is no owner at Nairit anymore,’ Yevgeny Gladunchik of the
Armenian Electricity Network (AEN) told a news conference. `The plant
hasn’t operated since August. All the promises of the previous owner
have turned out to be a bluff.’
`We have done everything to make it work. Unfortunately, all we can say
now is that the plant is dead,’ Gladunchik said. He added that the AEN
management decided earlier in the day to seek bankruptcy proceedings
against the former flagship of Soviet Armenia’s chemical industry.
There was no immediate confirmation of the news from Armenia’s Ministry
of Trade and Economic Development that had negotiated the deal with the
Russian conglomerate. Nairit had previously been handed over to an
Armenian private bank in payment for its $14 million debt to the latter.
Volgoburmash is not the first foreign investor to have tried to breathe
a new life into the factory that used to employ thousands of people.
Ransat Group, a British-registered firm, signed a management contract
signed with the Armenian government in early 2002, pledging to invest
$25 million within the next five years. However, the deal collapsed
several months later, with each other side accusing the other of failing
to honor its contractual obligations. Ransat eventually decided to
surrender control of Nairit.
6. ARMENIA, WORLD BANK COOPERATING RATHER EFFECTIVELY
Source: RIA Novosti’s, October 30, 2004
Cooperation between Armenia and the World Bank is developing rather
effectively, President Robert Kocharyan of Armenia said at a conference
involving Ms. Donna M. Dawsett-Coirolo, World Bank regional director for
South Caucasus, Mr. Hussein Razawi, World Bank director for the
infrastructure and energy sector, and Mr. Roger Robinson, director of
the World Bank’s Yerevan office.
Mr. Kocharyan pointed out the World Bank’s important role in
facilitating the implementation of Armenian reforms, presidential
press-service officials noted.
Robert Kocharyan voiced hope to the effect that this influential
international financial organization will continue to render all-out
assistance to Armenia in the future, as well.
Those taking part in the conference noted the importance of streamlining
Armenia’s tax and customs regulation legislation.
Fuel and energy cooperation prospects were discussed, as well.
The World Bank has implemented 36 programs worth nearly $821 million on
Armenian territory.
Armenia receives 40-year World Bank loans in accordance with IDA
(International Development Association) terms; such loans, which are
allocated to the world’s poorest countries, stipulate 0.75% annual
interest, as well as an easy-term ten-year period.
In June 2004 the World Bank’s board of executive directors endorsed a
new Armenian-aid strategy for the 2005-2008 period. This strategy calls
for setting aside loans to the tune of $220 million.
The new strategy lists the following priorities:
o helping the Armenian Government in its efforts to improve the business
climate and to create more jobs;
o facilitating better and more effective management;
o streamlining the public-health system, the education system, as well
as the basic infrastructure.
The previous Armenian-aid strategy for the 2002-2004 period had
stipulated loans worth about $190 million. Among other things, the World
Bank had financed construction of 120 km of local roads within the
framework of that strategy. The civil service reform was launched in
line with the new law based on an institutional administration survey.
More than 130 community projects were implemented, thus improving the
life of 340,000 rural dwellers. 80 rural hospitals were constructed and
118 physicians retrained as family doctors. Over 200 km of irrigation
canals were reconstructed, thereby enhancing the productivity of nearly
80,000 hectares of farmlands. 112 new textbooks were published and
handed out to students all over Armenia; add to this 50 teaching aids.
7. RA TRADE-INDUSTRIAL CHAMBER BECOMES A FULL MEMBER OF EUROPEAN TRADE
CHAMBER
Source: ARKA, November 1, 2004
Trade-Industrial Chamber (TIC) became a full member of European Trade
Chamber (ETC). According to RA (TIC) Press-Service Department, the
decision on it was made at the ETC congress in Vienna on Saturday,
October 30. According to the source, cooperation of EU countries with
TIC gives Armenia the chance to promote Armenian goods to the European
market through trade-industrial chambers.
Also, the TIC of Georgia became the full members of ETC, and TIC of
Azerbaijan got the status of an associate member. European Trade
Chamber is an officially registered organization of trade chambers of
European states. As of today, ETC includes TICs of all countries of EU,
and only three of the CIS, including Russia and Belarus.
8. PROJECT DISCOVERY! DRAWS SUPPORTERS TO GALA EVENT HIGHLIGHTING ITS
ARCHEOLOGICAL WORK IN ARMENIA
The Armenian Weekly On-Line: AWOL
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown MA 02472 USA
(617) 926-3974
armenianweekly@hairenik.com
DETROIT–On October 2, Detroit philanthropists Tom and Debbie Krikorian
graciously hosted a strolling supper at their magnificent estate on Pine
Lake to benefit Project Discovery!, a newly established charitable
organization dedicated to the discovery and preservation of the
archaeological and cultural legacy of Armenia. In total, 180 people
attended the party, including many non-Armenians.
The event co-chairs were Jim and Rosemary Bannon and Michael and Emma
Minasian. Mrs. Bannon, of Chaldaen descent, was drawn to the cause after
participating in the first Archaeology Odyssey tour to Armenia sponsored
by Project Discovery! last May. Mrs. Bannon, who has traveled to almost
every archaeologically significant region in the world, was so
fascinated with Armenia’s long and continuous history and so touched by
the dedication and warmth of the archaeologists who guided the group
that she enthusiastically offered to co-chair the event.
The evening opened with a rousing trombone fanfare of music by Arno
Babajanian, performed by Detroit Symphony Orchestra trombonist Randall
Hawes, accompanied by pianist Kathryn Goodson. Armenian music, from
classical to songs of the troubadours, continued throughout the evening
where guests were treated to a sumptuous meal with wine, followed by a
delicious array of tantalizing desserts.
Following dinner, Project Discovery! founder and president Teryl
Minasian Asher thanked the Krikorians for their generosity in opening
their beautiful home for the event, the evening’s co-chairs for their
tireless efforts in making the event a success, and the assembled guests
for their generous support. She reported with great excitement that the
proceeds from the evening totaled $22,000.
When one of the guests triumphantly stated that this event put Project
Discovery! on the map, Asher pointed out that Project Discovery! is a
global organization, with outreach committees in France, South America,
and the United Kingdom. Moreover, its Academic Advisory Board comprises
distinguished scholars from prestigious universities and research
institutions on three continents.
Asher then introduced University of Chicago professor Adam T. Smith, a
member of the organization’s Academic Advisory Board. Professor Smith
was no stranger to many of those in attendance, as he had given a
lecture and slide presentation in Detroit on archaeology in Armenia last
April at the Hagopian Gallery of Rugs, where over 225 people attended.
Professor Smith, who has conducted excavations in Armenia for the past
13 summers, spoke about the importance of the archaeological research
done in Armenia from a global perspective, and expressed his admiration
for the dedication of Armenian archaeologists in the face of seemingly
insurmountable financial obstacles.
He thanked those in attendance and explained how their contributions
would be used to support the efforts of the archaeologists of Armenia.
Guests were touched by Professor Smith’s comments and many expressed
their delight in being in the vanguard of this cause.
Other Academic Advisory Board members in attendance were University of
Michigan Armenian Studies Program director Kevork B. Bardakjian and PhD
candidate Lori Khatchadourian. Also present were University of Michigan
professors Susan E. Alcock and John Cherry.
The overall ambiance of the evening was one of elegance and excitement.
Guests were excited to not only see many of their old friends, but to
meet new people who shared in their enthusiasm and their commitment to
the cause.
Before the close of the evening, plans for the next event featuring
Professor Smith were announced. On November 18, he will present a
lecture titled “The Gift of Semiramis–Complex Societies in the Armenian
Highlands Viewed from one Trench at Gegharot Fortress” at Oscar Isberian
Rugs in Evanston, IL.
During the 15th century BC, societies living in the mountains and plains
of what is today Armenia underwent a convulsive transformation. Peoples
that for centuries had lived in socially stratified, predominantly
mobile, pastoral communities rather suddenly found themselves members of
complex, settled territorial polities complete with rigid social
hierarchies and developed political institutions cloistered within
stone-walled fortresses.
Traditional archaeological theories describe the emergence of complexity
in the region as a result of Assyrian military incursions – a gift of
Semiramis. Yet, complex societies emerged in the Armenian Highlands long
before the Assyrians turned their gaze to the north. And they emerged
with astonishing rapidity following more than half a millennia of mobile
life ways centered on the practices of stock breeding.
Excavations from 2000-2003 at the fortress of Gegharot, located in the
Tsaghkahovit Plain of central Armenia, have provided dramatic new clues
about the beginnings of social complexity in the region.
Through a “biography” of a single trench at Gegharot fortress, Professor
Smith will not only discuss the most recent results of his research, but
will also lead the audience through the process of archaeological
interpretation that coaxes dramatic pictures of ancient life from
artifacts.
For more information about Project Discovery! visit
, call (248) 593-6565, or (866) 393-6565 toll
free outside of Michigan, or email projectdiscovery @comcast.net.
9. ARMENIAN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION UP
Source: RosBusinessConsulting Database, November 2, 2004
Armenian industrial production gained 1.6 percent to $692.8m in January
to September 2004 in comparison to the same period in 2003. Industrial
products totaling $683.8m were sold in the reported period including
$63.3m in the CIS and $185.8m in other countries. According to the
country’s National Statistics Service, the volume of industrial
production decreased by 1.1 percent in September this year.
The chemical industry advanced considerably in January to September
2004, namely by 175.5 percent against January to September 2003.
Armenian energy companies produced 4.4787bn kWh in the first nine months
of this year, which was a 9-percent increase against the corresponding
period in 2003. A noticeable decline was reported in jewelry production
(84.2 percent).
10. SECOND SOCIAL SERVICES COMPLEX OPENS IN ARMENIA
Source: Noyan Tapan, November, 2004
A new social service center opened in the Armenian city of Masis on
November 2, 2004 to launch an experimental USAID program. The center,
“One Stop Social Services,” will house several local NGOs including, the
Territorial Agency of Social Services, Territorial Center of Employment,
Territorial Office of State Fund of Social Insurance, and the Commission
of Medical-Social Expert Examination. Each NGO will take advantage of a
networked computer system that will allow them to access larger
databases. The technologically advanced system will centralize
information and eliminate the need for multiple document submissions by
those applying for services.
Minister of Labor and Social Issues Aghvan Vardanian, announced that the
specific database technology is being studied by Romanian, Albanian, and
Georgian specialists, who are interested in introducing similar systems
in their respective countries.
At the opening of the center, US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans
expressed hope that the new center would help alleviate the social and
economic problems residents of Masis and its neighboring towns currently
face.
The town of Masis is currently home to 4,000 needy families, 1,500
unemployed, and 3,000 pensioners and disabled persons. “One Stop Social
Services” is the second center of its kind in the republic. The first
was established in the city of Vanadzor.
11. ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN ARMENIA INCREASED BY 9.7% IN JAN-SEPT OF
2004
Source: Arminfo, November 2, 2004
According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, 4,478.7-mln
kW/h of electricity was generated in Armenia in late September 2004,
increasing by 9.7% during the first nine months of the current year, and
in September 2004 as against Aug 2004 it decreased by 8.6%. At the same
time, electricity, produced by Armenian Nuclear Power plant increased by
26.3%, Hydro power plants – by 6.9% in Jan-Sept 2004, and by thermal
power plant it decreased by 4.5%.
Thus, in the period under review the ANPP has generated 1,663.8 mln kW/h
of electricity, which makes 37.1% of the total volume of electricity
generation in the republic, the Thermal power Station produced 1,193.9
mln kW/h or 26.7%, Hydro power stations – 1,621.0 mln kW/h or 36.2%.
290,400 Gigacalories of thermal energy was produced in the republic in
Jan-Sept, which makes up 98.4% of the showing of the same period of last
year.
12. UNESCO HOLDS SEMINAR TRAINING ON DISTANCE EDUCATION
Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
November 2, 2004
A three-day training seminar “Distance Education: Organization, Teacher
Training, Technologies” organized by the UNESCO Institute for
Information Technologies in Education commenced in Moscow. The seminar
is based on the IITE UNESCO recent methodological, training and research
materials on organizational, pedagogic and technological aspects of ICT
application in distance education. The event is partly funded by UNESCO
Moscow Office.
Azerbaijan is represented at the seminar by First secretary of the
Azerbaijan National Commission for UNESCO under the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the country Shahin Mammadov and representatives of the
Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan R. Mahmudzadeh and M. Babayev.
13. REPRESENTATIVE OF AZERBAIJAN PARTICIPATED IN INT’L CONFERENCE ON
ADULT EDUCATION
Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
November 2, 2004
Chair of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) Standing Commission for Science
and Education Shahlar Asgarov and National Coordinator for Azerbaijan of
the Institute for International Cooperation of the Association of German
Popular Universities Fuad Muradov participated in the international
conference entitled `Adult Education in a United Europe – Abundance,
Diversity, Experience held in Torun, Poland.
Representatives of 40 European countries gathered here to identify the
new intercultural dimension of adult education in the enlarged Europe,
create a forum for European dialogue between adult education
theoreticians and practitioners in order to ensure that adult education
in Europe is not merely an academic field without practical orientation,
and establish working groups to build on earlier.
14. OVER 3,200 DELEGATES SIGNED UP FOR THE CONGRESS
Source: IUCN, November 2, 2004
With a little over two weeks left until the opening of the 3rd IUCN
World Conservation Congress, more than 3,200 delegates have registered
to attend the world’s most important conservation event in 2004. The
Congress will focus the world’s attention on the plight of species and
ecosystems and its impact on people’s livelihoods by presenting
state-of-the-art scientific data. It will furthermore seek ways to
mobilize resources against the backdrop of shrinking government
investment in conservation. Government ministers and officials,
non-governmental organizations and the world’s leading environmental
experts will gather in Bangkok for the Congress, to be opened by Her
Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand on 17 November. The Congress will
include the three-day World Conservation Forum, with more than 350
events assessing and debating the key issues of conservation, human
rights, health and sustainable enterprises, followed by the five-day
IUCN Members’ Business Assembly, the world s largest democratic
environmental forum, which will set the conservation agenda to the end
of the decade.
15. 80 STATE MEMBERS STRONG! IRAN BECOMES AN IUCN MEMBER
Source: IUCN, November 1, 2004
The Islamic Republic of Iran has joined IUCN – The World Conservation
Union and becomes the 80th State member. Located on the Persian Gulf and
Strait of Hormuz, Iran is endowed with diverse natural resources
including petroleum, natural gas, and other minerals. “Iran’s membership
to IUCN cements a long-standing relationship in dealing with the
environment and development challenges facing the country, the Asian
continent and the world at large,” says Dr Odeh Al Jayyousi, the IUCN
Director for the WESCANA region. IUCN and the Islamic Republic of Iran
have collaborated on, among other things, the development of a national
programme addressing major conservation issues of importance to Iran. By
joining IUCN, Iran strengthens the Union’s resolve to work closely with
governments, civil society and the private sector in the governance of
the world’s natural resources. IUCN has four more members in Iran.
Recently an IUCN Regional Office was opened in Amman, Jordan in order to
strengthen collaboration with conservation and development stakeholders
in the region.
16. WHOSE FOREST IS IT ANYWAY?
Source: IUCN, October 29, 2004
Who owns the world’s forests and what ownership systems work best for
forest conservation? The latest issue of arborvit?, the joint IUCN/WWF
Forest Conservation Newsletter, explores forest ownership from different
angles and from the experiences of numerous countries worldwide. The
feature article by Forest Trends, an IUCN Member, shows that communities
not only own and administer 22 percent of all forest land in developing
countries, but that they also invest between US $1.3 billion and US $2.6
billion in sustainable forest management. This is more than the
investment made by their own governments or external donors, making them
the largest investors in forests today. So is community ownership the
way forward? Clearly, though there is a marked shift towards community
management and ownership, the social, political and economic
complexities surrounding forest ownership preclude a one-size-fits-all
solution. Several articles in this issue highlight the problems faced in
the implementation of decentralization and privatization measures and
stress the need for governments to continue playing a regulatory role
and providing incentives for sustainable forest management.
—
*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: info@cenn.org
URL: