ZUBKOV TO YEREVAN TO DISCUSS RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN COOPERATION

ITAR-TASS
Feb 5 2008
Russia

YEREVAN, February 5 (Itar-Tass) – Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov
is embarking on a two-day official visit to Armenia on Tuesday evening
during which he will discuss a wide range of issues of Russian-Armenian
cooperation.

On Wednesday morning, the Russian government head will meet Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan and speaker of the National Assembly
(parliament) Tigran Torosyan, as well as will hold talks with the
country’s Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan. The sides plan to sign
bilateral agreements.

Zubkov will visit the Armenian Apostolic Church’s Mother See – Holy
Echmiadzin for a conversation with its head – Supreme Patriarch,
All Armenian Catholicos Garegin II. The Russian prime minister will
lay a wreath at the memorial to the victims of genocide of Armenians
of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire.

After the proclamation of independence and sovereignty of the two
states this is the fifth visit paid by Russia’s government head
to Armenia.

Yerevan officials hope that the arrival of the Russian prime minister
will serve as a stimulus for the development of, first of all,
bilateral economic relations.

"Russia is steadily assuming the positions of one of the main
investors in the Armenian economy," Russian Transport Minister Igor
Levitin who co-chairs the Intergovernmental Commission for economic
cooperation with Armenia said at a Russian-Armenian economic forum
that has recently been held in Yerevan by the Armenian government and
all-Russian non-governmental organisation Union of Armenians of Russia.

Levitin recalled that Russia’s major investment projects in Armenia
include the construction of gas-energy facilities, purchase by the
VimpelCom company of assets of the national communications operator
ArmenTel, buying by Russia’s Vneshtorgbank (VTB Bank) of Armsberbank
(Armenian Savings Bank), modernisation of the Yerevan aluminium plan
RusAl-ArmenAl, of energy capacities of the Sevan-Razdan hydropower
plant cascade, rehabilitation of a number of Armenian enterprises
by the company International Business Centre founded by the Russian
RASKO corporate group. The results of an international tender for
the concession management of the Armenian Railway Company have been
recently summarised. Russian Railways (RZD) was announced the winner.

The foreign trade turnover between the two countries in January-October
grew by 63 percent reaching 623.7 million US dollars.

The Russian and Armenian sides have been recently discussing
"possibilities for the implementation of new large-scale projects."

So their interaction in the sphere of the nuclear power industry is
advancing to a new stage. "The Russian side is ready to invest in the
follow-up exploration and industrial development of uranium deposits
in Armenia" that reach 60,000 tonnes, according to forecasts, as well
as to provide assistance to the country in the prolongation of the
service life of the Armenian nuclear power plant and construction of
a new nuclear power generating unit.

Direct industrial relations of Russian regions with Armenia are
developing involving over 70 constituent entities of the Russian
Federation.

The system of modern interaction bodies is working stably, in
particular, the Russian-Armenian Intergovernmental Commission for
economic cooperation. The Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in
Armenia was established in 2006 and the opening of an office of the
Rosoboronexport arms exporting company in Yerevan is planned.

"Russian capital is feeling very comfortable in Armenia," Prime
Minister Serzh Sarkisyan is certain. In the total volume of foreign
investments in the real sector of the Armenian economy made in the
period from 1991 to October 2007, Russian investments accounted for
almost one billion dollars or one-third of the total.

"The legal field regulating trade-economic relations between Armenia
and Russia, an atmosphere of effective cooperation between the
two countries’ governments, as well as the presence in Russia of a
large and active Armenian community give our businesspeople ample
opportunities for the development of mutually advantageous activities
in different sectors of the economy," believes Sarkisyan.

Nevertheless, "economic relations between Armenia and Russia so far do
not correspond to the level of political strategic partnership between
the two countries," President of the all-Russian non-governmental
organisation Union of Armenians of Russia and of the international
union of Armenian NGOs World Armenian Congress Ara Abramyan believes.