ARMENIA PM TO MOSCOW TO DISCUSS COOPERATION ISSUES

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
September 24, 2007 Monday

Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan is beginning an official visit
to Moscow to discuss a broad spectrum of issues of Russian-Armenian
cooperation in the political and economic spheres.

He will meet Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, hold talks on
various aspects of bilateral relations and give a press conference
at Itar-Tass.

It is the first visit to Russia paid by the current Armenian cabinet
head who was appointed for the post in April. Sarkisyan retained
the post of the head of the Armenian part of the intergovernmental
commission on economic cooperation between Russia and Armenia.

The two countries’ cooperation is developing on the bilateral
and multilateral basis. Armenia, the same as Russia, is for the
strengthening of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and a
member of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).

Russia and Armenia have become reliable economic partners that found
reflection in their treaty "on long-term economic cooperation for
the period up to 2000,"signed in September 2001 by Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan.

Russia today is the main trade partner of Armenia. Russia’s Exports
to the country are mainly nuclear fuel and equipment supplies for
the Armenian nuclear power plant, energy resources, machinery and
equipment. Food products, raw materials, unprocessed aluminium, as
well as liquors and semi-precious stones and metals prevail in the
structure of Russian imports from Armenia. About 70 Russian regions
are maintaining bilateral economic relations with Armenia.

The volume of trade turnover between Russia and Armenia has doubled
and may exceed 0.5 billion US dollars by the end of the year, Russian
Acting Transport Minister Igor Levitin who heads the Russian part of
the intergovernmental cooperation commission said in Armenia last
week. He stated that Russian investments in the Armenian economy
have also increased. In the first half of the year they amounted to
74 million dollars.

The lack of direct transport service between the two countries is
the main obstacle to the development of Russian-Armenian economic
cooperation. The Abkhazian section of the railway between Russia and
Armenia is closed, therefore the main part of cargoes from Russia
to Armenia is transported via the Black Sea through the Georgian
Poti port and then by railway. Measures are currently being taken to
increase the load on the Kavkaz-Poti ferry service.