KHALIFA LAUDED FOR EFFORTS TO PROTECT ENVIRONMENT
Khaleej Times
June 23 2008
United Arab Emirates
ABU DHABI- The Armenian Ambassador to the UAE, Vahagn Melikian, has
praised the efforts of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, in protecting the environment, preserving wildlife,
and developing natural resources in the UAE and other countries,
especially Armenia.
In a lecture at the Centre for Information Affairs, Melikian expressed
his country’s gratitude to the UAE leadership for donating land
in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi for building churches and schools for the
Armenian community in the two emirates.
In Sharjah, he said, an Armenian church and school are currently
operating and the Armenian community in the UAE is garnering funds
for building a church and school in Abu Dhabi.
The Armenian ambassador shed light on the Arpa-Sevan tunnel
reconstruction and rehabilitation project and its vitality for his
country.
He said that Armenia is often referred to as an open-air museum
as there are about 40,000 historical monuments spread across the
country. Lake Sevan is, undoubtedly, considered one of Armenia’s most
precious treasures, he added.
Melikian praised the $10 million loan given to his country by the Abu
Dhabi Fund for Development to finance the rehabilitation of Arpa-Sevan
Tunnel project, stating that this is a positive indication of the
desire and determination of the two countries to strengthen their
bilateral relations in all fields.
Lake Sevan is located some 65km northeast from the capital, Yerevan,
and it is considered the biggest lake in the Caucasus and one of the
highest freshwater lakes in the world, he said, adding that it has
a tectonic-volcanic origin.
The ambassador stated that Lake Sevan is the only large natural water
reservoir in Armenia, which is highly important for water balance of
the Southern Caucasus, as well as for that of northern Iran and Turkey.
Due to its strategic water resources, it is simultaneously the basic
source of consumer water supply for Armenia and bordering states, he
said, mentioning that 26 big and small rivers flow into Lake Sevan,
whereas only the Hrazdan River flows out of it.