PRESS RELEASE
September 30, 2005
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: armecon@speakeasy.net; Web:
High-Level Armenian Government Delegation Visits Washington
A high-level Armenian Government delegation visited Washington, D.C. on
September 24-28 in order to participate in bilateral economic discussions
with U.S. government counterparts and in the annual Governor’s Meeting of
the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The Armenian delegation
included Minister of Finance & Economy Vardan Khachatrian, Chief Economic
Adviser to the President Vahram Nercissiantz, Trade and Economic Development
Minister Karen Tchshmaritian, Agriculture Minister Davit Lokian, Central
Bank Chairman Tigran Sargsian, Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian,
Ambassador Tatoul Markarian, and officials from the Ministries of Finance
and Economy and Foreign Affairs.
During the World Bank and IMF annual meetings, the Armenian delegation had
meetings with World Bank Executive Director Ad Melkert, Country Director for
Armenia Donna Dowsett-Coirolo, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF Augustin
Carstens, and IMF Executive Director Jeroen Kremers.
On September 27, the Armenian delegation visited the headquarters of the
Millennium Challenge Corporation to discuss the evaluation phase of Armenia’s
MCA draft program with MCC leadership. Expressing satisfaction with the
level of political and technical cooperation between MCC and the Armenian
Government officials, both sides agreed to continue to work together toward
finalization and preparation of the MCA compact.
The eleventh session of the U.S.-Armenia intergovernmental task force on
economic cooperation (USATF) convened on September 26. The USATF is
co-chaired by Minister Vardan Khachatrian and Ambassador Thomas Adams,
Coordinator of Assistance Programs in Eurasia at the State Department. The
agenda for the USATF meeting included issues such as Armenia’s economic
growth and democratic reforms, the current status of the Millenium Challenge
Account programs’ process in Armenia, economic policy and prospects for
long-term development, promoting investments and further improving Armenia’s
business environment, WTO standards enforcement and trade issues, legal
reforms, as well as bilateral cooperation in the area of education and
science, energy, and agriculture.
In addition, the Armenian delegation met with heads of foreign delegations
at the World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting, including Finance Minister of The
Netherlands Gerrit Zalm and Iranian Finance Minister Daud Davash Jafari.
On September 26, the Embassy of Armenia hosted a reception in honor of the
Armenian delegation, with participation of officials from U.S. Government,
including the State Department, Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, and
Agriculture, US Agency for International Development, and the Millennium
Challenge Corporation, as well as representatives of the Armenian-American
organizations.