ITALIAN-ARMENIAN SYMPOSIUM ON STONE QUARRYING AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES HELD IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Jun 15 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The political cooperation between
Armenia and Italy is currently at the highest level, while economic
relations still have a potential for development. In this sense,
the symposium "Stone Quarrying and Processing Technologies" is quite
promising. The Italian Ambassador to Armenia Marco Clemente expressed
this opinion in his speech of welcome at the symposium on June 15.

27 Armenian companies operating in such spheres as stone quarrying
and processing, transport, insrument making, as well as 11 Italian
companies engaged in stone quarrying and processing equipment
and instrument production, and implementation of educational and
design program took part in the symposium. The event was organized
by the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia (UMBA)
and Olstone company (Italy) representing the interests of a number
of companies. The company’s technical manager Stephano Simone said
that the best Italian stone quarrying and processing companies have
been invited to participate in the symposium.

During the event, an agreement on cooperation was signed between
the UMBA and Olstone. UMBA Chairman Arsen Ghazarian notes that the
document creates preconditions for establishment of Armenian-Italian
joint ventures on operation of stone mines ans stone processing, for
introduction of new technologies and installation of conveyers in such
enterprises, as well as for training of Armenian enterprises’ employees
in Italy. According to him, the implementation of these measures will
increase Armenian exports. The Armenian travertine, tufa and felsite
are mainly used on the domestic market where an annual growth in
construction volumes made 20-30% in recent years. In the opinion of A.

Ghazarian, it is not ruled out that exports of Armenian construction
stone will exceed local consumption in the near future. He said that
construction stone is transported by railway to Georgian ports, then –
to Russia, Ukraine, the US, Germany, and France, in smaller amounts –
to other countries, particularly to Australia and South Africa.