ARMENIA TO BECOME 17th COUNTRY TO JOIN INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS AND PARLIAMENT

Noyan Tapan
Jun 07 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN. The opening ceremony of the Armenian
Office of the International Association of Business and Parliament
(IABP) will take place at the Golden Tulip Hotel (the Yerevan Hotel)
late June 7. The association was founded in Great Britain in the
late 1970s and later became an international organization. Armenia is
the 17th country to join it. A coordination board has been set up in
Armenia by a group of former businessmen, currently National Assembly
deputies representing all political forces. The Europarliament’s Vice
Chairman for Relations with National Parliaments Edward McMillan-Scott,
the Secretary General of the International Association of Business
and Parliament Frederick Hyde-Chambers, and the RA NA Vice Speaker,
ARF Bureau member Vahan Hovhannisian who has initiated Armenia’s
joining the IABP met with reporters in the NA earlier on the same day.

According to V. Hovhannisian, the association aims to build a strong
bridge connecting various parliaments and the business world so that
all legislative reforms can serve the purpose of economic development
of a country. He said the association will seek to promote development
of small and medium business in Armenia. The IABP is not a lobbyist
organization, it will work out programs and provide appropriate
information to any deputy not included in the coordination board. The
deputies to participate in the development of programs “will not have
the right to use the information available to them for an improper
purpose, but this information will allow them to understand the laws
prepared by the government, to improve these laws and make useful
proposals.”

The European officials in their turn welcomed the fact of Armenia’s
joining the association, attaching special importance to it in terms
of developing the appropriate legislation to form the basis of the
country’s economic progress. The IABP Secretary General expressed
a wilingness to provide the Armenian Office staff with the maximum
possible assistance. In his words, it is his 6th visit to Armenia, and
he was pleasantly surprised by the knowledge, skills and capabilities
of the Armenians, so he can state confidently that Armenia will
successfully overcome the transitional period.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress