ARKA News Agency – 03/16/2005

ARKA News Agency
March 16 2005

RA FM meets with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in Vienna

Ashot Hakobyan relieved of post of Vice-Chief of RA Emergency
Department

Association of young believers formed in NKR

Draft of RA Government’s national eurointegration program to be ready
late in May

RA Government to shorten list of licensed activities

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RA FM MEETS WITH OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS IN VIENNA

YEREVAN, March 16. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has
held a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen in Vienna,
Austria. The press service of the RA Foreign Office reports that the
meeting participants discussed a number of issues related to the next
stage of negotiations for the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and to the
OSCE fact-finding mission’s report on the settlement of territories
around Nagorno Karabakh. The report is to be submitted to the OSCE
Permanent Council on March 17. The same day, Minister is to return to
Yerevan.
Late in January-early in February, an OSCE fact-finding mission was
on a visit to Nagorno Karabakh to monitor the settlement of
territories around the NKR. P.T. -0–

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ASHOT HAKOBYAN RELIEVED OF POST OF VICE-CHIEF OF RA EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENT

YEREVAN, March 16. /ARKA/. RA Prime Minister issued a decree
relieving Ashot Hakobyan of the post of Vice-Chief of the Emergency
Department, RA Government, the Public Relations Department, RA
Government, reports. P.T. -0–

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ASSOCIATION OF YOUNG BELIEVERS FORMED IN NKR

STEPANAKERT, March 16. /ARKA/. An Association of Young Believers has
been founded in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) with efforts of
the Artsakh diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). The
information center of the Artsakh diocese reports that the goal of
the Association is to unite young people round the AAC, inculcation
of centuries-old national spiritual values in them, protection from
sects and encouragement of their spiritual growth. One of the
components of the activities is the delivery of lecturers at
collectives and organizations. The work is being carried out with the
blessing of Leader of the AAC Artsakh diocese, Archbishop Pargev
Martirosyan and is supposed to teach young people spiritual heritage
and religion thereby battling various sects. P.T. -0–

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DRAFT OF RA GOVERNMENT’S NATIONAL EUROINTEGRATION PROGRAM TO BE READY
LATE IN MAY

YEREVAN, March 16. /ARKA/. The original draft of the RA Government’s
national program of
Executing the terms of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
signed between the EU member-states is to be ready at the end of May
2005, stated RA Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy, Chairman of
the Coordinating Commission David Avetisyan. According to him,
`Armenia assumed most serious commitments, which will have an
appreciable impact on the country’s development in the future.’
A comparative analysis of the legislation of Armenia and of the EU is
currently being made with the sponsorship of the Armenian-European
Policy and Legal Advice Center (AEPLAC). P.T. -0–

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RA GOVERNMENT TO SHORTEN LIST OF LICENSED ACTIVITIES

YEREVAN, March 6. /ARKA/. According to the RA Government’s program of
action a proposal is to be made in the third ten-day period of this
March for shortening or simplifying the list of activities liable to
licensing, Karen Tamazyan Head of the Department for the Development
of Financial Market and Currency Regulation, RA ministry of Finance
and Economy, told a press conference. According to him, the Ministry
is preparing relevant proposals concerning this document. `We have
not yet determined specific directions, but we think changes need to
be made in 6-7 types of activities in various spheres, especially in
the case of doubling activities, which will be summarized,’ Tamazyan
said. He stressed that the RA Government will make a final decision,
and changes themselves will be summary ones.
The RA Government’s program of action envisages the submission of a
bill on amendments to the Law on Licensing to harmonize it with the
Law on State Duty.
In 2001-2004, a total of 3,670 licenses were issued by the simplified
procedure in Armenia. A total of 120-130 types of activities are
licensed in Armenia now, most of them by the complicated procedure.
P.T. -0–