RUSSIA-ARMENIA TRADE DOUBLES TO EXCEED $0.5 BLN BY YEAREND – LEVITIN

ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 14, 2007 Friday
Russia

The Russian-Armenian trade can exceed 0.5 billion U.S. dollars by
the end of this year, Russia’s Acting Minister of Transport Igor
Levitin said on Friday, addressing a meeting of the Russian-Armenian
Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.

The Russian minister and Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan
co-chair the commission.

While addressing the meeting, Levitin stressed that bilateral trade
doubled from January through June as compared to the same months
of 2006.

"Trade and economic relations between our countries are really in
progress as business communities in Russia and in Armenia trust their
authorities," Levitin said.

Russian investments in Armenian economy went up to 74 million U.S.

dollars in the first half of the year, the Russian minister said. He
thanked the Armenian government for the encouragement and support
of investments.

The two sides do their best to improve transport communication,
although Russia and Armenia have no common borders, Levitin said.

Sarkisyan, in turn, gave an example of a real progress in the
transport area: a regular ferry Port Kavkaz – Poti – Port Kavkaz,
which gradually increases the cargo and passenger traffic.