Armenian economy minister calls on international banks for active cooperation

Arminfo
6 Jun 05

YEREVAN

International financial organizations are not so active in Armenia as
in neighbouring Georgia and Azerbaijan, Armenian Minister of Finance
and Economy Vardan Khachatryan told the Black Sea business forum,
which took place after the 7th meeting of the Board of Governors of
the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank in Yerevan today.

Armenia is mainly working with such international financial
institutions as the World Bank [WB] and the International Monetary
Fund, which allocate loans under state guarantees, Khachatryan
said. He described their cooperation with the Armenian government as
successful and noted that the share of government loans in Armenia is
even higher than in Georgia and Azerbaijan.

He said that in the meantime, the Armenian government has created a
favourable investment environment and expressed hope for an inflow of
investments.

The minister said that he expects the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development [EBRD] and the International Finance Corporation
[IFC], which makes up the World Bank group, to step up their
activities in Armenia. He noted that there are two unsuccessful cases
of the Armenian government’s cooperation with the EBRD, which concern
credits for the thermal power station in Razdan and the construction
of a cargo terminal at Zvartnots airport.

Nevertheless, the minister noted some successful projects by the EBRD
in the country’s banking system and industry and welcomed the bank’s
direct investments in Armenian enterprises.

The IFC allocated a small loan back in 2000 and Armenia has not been
cooperating with this bank since then, the minister added.

[Passage omitted: Khachatryan speaks of the need for investment in the
South Caucasus]