Armenian Leaders Look to Future
By DAVID ZHOU, Contributing Writer

The Harvard Crimson
Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Analyzing the current economic situation in Armenia with an emphasis
on future growth strategies, government officials from Armenia
and executive board members of an Armenian diaspora organization
participated in an all-day summit at the Kennedy School of Government
yesterday.Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School
Michael E. Porter also spoke at the event, entitled â~@~The Global
Summit on the Future of Armenia.â~@~] The Foreign Minister of Armenia,
Vartan Oskanian, was scheduled to speak, but did not attend after
contracting pneumonia, according to Belfer Center Communications
Officer Sharon R. Wilke.

Vahram Nercissiantz, the chief economic advisor to Armenian President
Robert Kocharian, spoke with The Crimson after the summit to discuss
a number of the countryâ~@~Ys important political and economic
issues. Three board members from Armenia 2020â~@~Tan organization that
studies development in Armeniaâ~@~Talso participated in an interview.

â~@~[The summit] presents a visionary review and analysis of the
Armenian political and economic transition,â~@~] Nercissiantz said.
â~@~Lots of analytical work was done on what are policy options
and strategic directions.â~@~]

The summit, which touched on domestic issues that confront todayâ~@~Ys
Armenian leaders, was hosted by the Belfer Center for Science and
International Affairs. The event was co-sponsored by Armenia 2020
and the Armenian General Benevolent Union, which sets up programs to
promote Armenian culture.

The press conference following the summit also focused on tensions
with Turkey, which Nercissiantz said stem in large part from the
Turkish governmentâ~@~Ys continuing refusal to recognize the genocide
perpetrated against Armenians after the First World War.

â~@~We have a rage for that genocide which is still with us,â~@~]
Nercissiantz said. â~@~The Turks have a responsibility to face
their own history.â~@~]

Noubar B. Afeyan, an Armenia 2020 executive board member, said that
Turkeyâ~@~Ys economic sanctions are â~@~because of Armenian pressure
for recognition of the genocide.â~@~]

Nercissiantz said fears of another genocide prompted the conflict
with Azerbaijan, a neighboring nation that has been involved in a
dispute over territory with Armenia.

â~@~This fits into the pattern of an ideology which has existed
in the region called Pan-Turkism,â~@~] he said. â~@~It is very
similar to Nazi ideology where they wish to eliminate all non-Turkish
elements.â~@~]

Nercissiantz said that genuine peace between the three countries
depends on the development of liberal democracy because â~@~citizens
never vote to eliminate an element of their society.â~@~]

While Turkey is widely hailed as a triumph of democracy in the region,
Nercissiantz said, the government must do more to protect minority
rights.

Armenia has been moving toward both a liberalized political system
and economy, he said. The country has enjoyed high rates of growth
throughout the 1990s and joined the World Trade Organization in 2003.

The countryâ~@~Ys economy collapsed along with the former Soviet
Union, has been playing catch-up ever since, and is now approximately
back to its 1989 level, said Andrew Lazarian, another executive
board member of Armenia 2020.

â~@~Our approach has been growth with equity, assist a good business
environment and invest in people,â~@~] Nercissiantz said. â~@~We
do have considerable progress, but we have a long way to go.â~@~]

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