ARMENIA SHOULD ADVANCE DEMOCRATIC REFORMS, US SECRETARY OF STATE
Artur Grigoryan, Karen Grigoryan, “Aylur”.
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
28 Mar 06
[Presenter] Armenia has signed an agreement with the Millennium
Challenge Corporation [MCC] at the State Department in Washington,
under which the US will provide 236.5 million dollars in assistance
over five years.
The bulk of the funds will be spent on reducing poverty in the
Armenian villages, restoring of infrastructure, roads and irrigation
system. It is said that this will improve the lives of about 1m
peoples. About 1m people live in the Armenian villages. The American
State Department confirmed that the price of this great present is
to continue democratic reforms in Armenia.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Armenian Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanyan took part in the signing ceremony.
[Condoleezza Rice, captioned, speaking in English with Armenian
voice-over] Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honour
for me to greet the members of the Armenian delegation. This meeting is
a promising step in the US and Armenian partnership. The agreement is
also the embodiment of America’s transformational diplomacy because it
will empower Armenian people to better their own lives, to strengthen
their own communities and to transform their own future.
[Vardan Oskanyan, captioned, speaking in English with Armenian
voice-over] We welcome the US government’s decision to assist those
countries which pledge to govern justly, to encourage economic openness
and to invest in people.
[Passage omitted: correspondent reported about the details of the
programme and about a teleconference from Washington for Armenian
journalists]
[Vardan Oskanyan] The elections of 2007 and 2008 will be an examination
on democracy in Armenia. Our task is, until the elections, to partner
with the US and the European governments to implement the necessary
corrective steps to improve the conditions necessary for an honest
and fair expression of people’s voices.