STATE SHOULD ASSIST THOSE PROVIDING TESTING SERVICES, AEPLAC’S ARMENIAN DIRECTOR CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan
Jul 16 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 16 NOYAN TAPAN. Such testing and certification bodies,
the work of which will be recognized by the EU, should be created
in Armenia for extending the export of Armenian foodstuffs and other
goods to the European Union countries. Tigran Jrbashian, the Armenian
Director of AEPLAC, expressed such an opinion at the July 13 press
conference.

In his words, though the testing services sphere is liberalized
in Armenia, the state should make large expenditures for the
purpose of assisting private testing laboratories and certification
bodies. T. Jrbashian also attached importance to entrance of well-known
foreign companies of the sphere to Armenia, adding that negotiations
with the respective companies of Slovakian and Baltic countries over
that issue have already started.

The AEPLAC Director also considers that the process of harmonization
of Armenian standards and technical regulations with the European
normative field should be accelerated.

It was mentioned that the European Union remains Armenia’s main trade
partner: nearly 44% (43.7m USD) in the total volume of export from
Armenia fell to the EU in 2006, and import made 31% of the total amount
(629m USD).

The above mentioned tendencies of Armenia-EU trade relations have
been also preserved in the first five months of this year.

It was also mentioned that the investments of EU countries to Armenia
are also large: in 2006, the EU’s share in the total amount of foreign
investments made in Armenia amounted to 30%. In the period of 1988-2007
March, 440m USD out of the total amount of foreign investments made
in Armenia, 1b 470m USD, falls to the EU.