Mediamax news agency, Yerevan, in Russian
17 Nov 04

Armenian, German presidents discuss economic ties

Yerevan, 18 November: German President Horst Koehler today said that
his country was ready to continue to facilitate political and
economic reforms in Armenia.

Horst Koehler said this at a meeting with Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan who is on a working visit to Germany, a Mediamax special
correspondent reports from Berlin.

The president noted that Germany’s readiness was mainly conditioned
by the fact that reforms in Armenia were yielding concrete results.
Koehler recalled that the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development headed by Germany and the International Monetary Fund had
noted the economic progress achieved in Armenia. At the same time, he
noted that the Armenian government should win the highest public
confidence in the reforms that are being conducted.

Horst Koehler said that the assistance programmes carried out by
Germany in Armenia also facilitated political and economic stability
in the South Caucasus as a whole.

In turn, Robert Kocharyan said that Armenian-German relations were
developing dynamically. He thanked Horst Koehler for technical
assistance rendered to Armenia, particularly stressing cooperation in
the field of energy, water supplies and the industrial
infrastructure, as well as a programme to support small and
medium-sized businesses in Armenia sponsored by Germany’s KfW bank.

Robert Kocharyan noted that at the moment, the Armenian government
and the KfW bank were discussing a new project aimed at developing
the mortgage market.

The Armenian president also noted with satisfaction private German
investors’ growing interest in the Armenian economy. He said that
German investment played quite an important role in the field of
information technologies and mining. Robert Kocharyan said that new
investment programmes involving German capital were expected to be
launched soon.