NATO WEEK LAUNCHED IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan

Ju ne 23, 2008

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The ceremony of opening of NATO Week in
Armenia took place on June 23 in NATO Information Center. According to
Gegham Gharibjanian, the RA Deputy Foreign Minister, NATO Week held for
already the second time is one of the most important events implemented
by Armenia within the framework of the Individual Partnership Actions
Plan (IPAP). Its goal is to present the main directions of Armenia-NATO
cooperation, the modern characterization and content of NATO’s activity
to country’s society.

G. Gharibjanian said that visits of NATO high-ranking representatives
and a number of information and representation events are envisaged
within the framework of the Week. In particular, an international
conference dedicated to prevention and confronting of attacks
in cyber-space will start on June 24 at Yerevan’s Ani-Plaza
hotel. The Deputy Foreign Minister said that the problem of fighting
cyber-terrorism was first included in the agenda during a NATO summit
held in April, 2008 in Bucharest.

According to the Deputy Minister, the launching of NATO Week in NATO
Information Center is Yerevan is not accidental and symbolizes the
fact that country’s authorities attach importance to cooperation with
NGOs. G. Gharibjanian said that NATO Information Center and Armenian
Atlantic Association support the Foreign Ministry in preparation and
holding of NATO Week.

According to Tevan Poghosian, the Executive Director of Atlantic
Association, it is planned to implement a number of programs this year,
the goal of which is to inform the youth about NATO and to discuss the
possibilities and obstacles of cooperation with NATO. NATO Educational
Rally will start on June 24 for that purpose, the participants
of which will leave for Vanadzor, Gavar, Ghapan. Discussion of
Armenia-NATO relations development scenarios will take place on June
27 at Ani-Plaza hotel, and the ceremony of Week’s summary will take
place at Sayat Nova cafe in the evening the same day.

According to Ara Tadevosian, the Director of NATO Information
Center, Jean-Francois Bureau, NATO Assistant Secretary General for
Public Diplomacy, will arrive in Yerevan on June 27. The same day he
will meet with students of Yerevan State University Journalism and
International Relations Departments. The launching of the book under
the title "Armenia-NATO: Ten Years of Progress" will take place in
the center the same day. According to A. Tadevosian, for the first
time an attempt to present Armenia-NATO cooperation in the past 10
years in a systematized way is made in the book.

Jean-Francois Bureau and RA Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosian
will take part in the event.

A documentary under the title "The Army is Strong" about U.S. army
will be shown on June 25-26 by the Public Television of Armenia
within the framework of the Week. According to film’s author Avet
Demurian, a correspondent of the Associated Press agency in Armenia,
a series of documentaries dedicated to different armies of the world
is prepared. The next films will present the armies of the countries
that have recently joined NATO.