RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN TRADE EXPECTED TO GO BEYOND $500 MILLION

ARMENPRESS
Aug 23, 2007

SOCHI, AUGUST 23, ARMENPRESS: "Our meetings here have become
traditional but this one has a specific significance as in a few days
Armenia and Russia will be marking the 10-th anniversary of signing
the Friendship and Cooperation Agreement," Russia’s president Vladimir
Putin said after talks with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian
in Sochi, a resort town on the Black Sea coast.

Kocharian for his part praised the growing trade and political ties
between the two countries and thanked his Russian counterpart for
warm welcome. He described bilateral relations with Russia as a
dynamic process.

The two presidents discussed a wide scope of issues pertaining to
interaction in different sectors, especially from the perspective
of boosting commercial ties, joint implementation of big investment
projects in Armenia. They also discussed a set of international and
regional questions.

Armenian-Russian trade in the first six months of this year grew
70 percent from a year before to $337 million and is expected to go
beyond $500 million.

Russia is the biggest investor in Armenia having invested over $800
million over the last 15 years. The biggest investors are Gazprom, VTB
bank, Vimpelcom mobile phone operator and Rusal aluminum foil producer.