UN RURAL AID AGENCY ISSUES 20M-DOLLAR LOAN TO ARMENIA

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
28 Jan 05

YEREVAN

The (UN) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has
allocated a 20m-dollar loan to Armenia.

An appropriate agreement was signed by IFAD Chairman Lennart Bage and
Armenian Minister of Agriculture David Lokyan in the capital of Italy
today, Mediamax’s special correspondent reports from Rome. Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan also attended the ceremony of signing the
document.

David Lokyan said that 10m dollars would be spent on issuing loans to
farmers in Armenia via the republic’s commercial banks. The remaining
10m dollars will be channelled into the projects of modernization of
Armenia’s agricultural infrastructure.

The IFAD chairman highly assessed Armenia’s success in the sphere of
agricultural reforms at the meeting with Robert Kocharyan. Lennart
Bage stressed that the loans issued to Armenia were used with high
efficiency.

Armenian Minister of Agriculture David Lokyan said today that the
credit programme was designed for four years and its realization would
begin in a few months.