"INFOTOUR 2008" ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN FORUM OF BUSINESSWOMEN HELD

Y EREVAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. "Only after the Businesswomen Support
Foundation-Business Center adjunct to the RA Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (CCI) started operating, it became possible to form an idea
about how great the potential of Armenian businesswomen is," the RA CCI
chairman Martin Sargsian stated at "Infotour 2008" Armenian-Russian
forum of businesswomen on May 16.

In his words, there are opportunities to increase trade turnover
between Armenia and Russia in such sectors as agriculture, chemistry,
tourism, food industry – in particular, organic food production,
construction, IT, textile production and energy. M. Sargsian expressed
a hope that the forum will lay a basis for new cooperation projects.

The director of the foundation-business center Lilia Gevorgian said
that the Armenian-Russian forum of business women is being held in the
framework of the programs on cooperation of South Caucasian countries.
The idea to organize this forum was put forward by the Armenian
delegation at the South Caucasian Economic Forum held in the Abkhazian
city of Pitsunda in the autumn of 2007. According to L. Gevorgian,
familiarization trips to be oragnized during Infotour 2008 will help
Russian businesswomen to form a notion of Armenia’s business resources.
By the way, the majority of 15 members of the Russian delegation (from
Tatarstan, Abkhazia, Sochi) are businesswomen engaged in the tourism
sector.

The director general of Continent OJSC (Sochi) Lyudmila Aminova
expressed an opinion that such forums should take place in Sochi as
well, which will allow to direct part of Sochi’s tourist flow to
Armenia. Asya Khachaturian, who runs a hotel and public catering
business in Sochi, made a proposal that the RA CCI assist with
organizing an exhibition on Armenia’s tourism sector in Sochi. She said
that some Armenian companies will participate in programs on
construction of Olympic facilities in Sochi and supply of cement for
construction work in this city.

The chairwoman of the Union of Abkhazian Businesswomen Yulia Gumba
considered cooperation with Armenia in the tourism sector as
prospective, noting that 3 million tourists visited Abkhazia in 2007.
The director general of Mika-Cement company Naira Martirosian expressed
a wish that this cooperation would also cover Nagorno Karabakh.

M. Sargsian announced that it is envisaged to organize the response
forum of businesswomen in Russia in September of this year. According
to him, the Russian delegation will take familiarization trips in
Armenia until late May.