PRESS RELEASE
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
Governmental Buiding 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Hasmik Grigoryan
Tel: +(3741) 56 01 06 ext. 105
Fax: +(3741) 52 15 05
E-mail: pr@himnadram.org
Web:

29 January, 2009

The French Department of Hauts-de-Seine grants 500,000 euros to the Hayastan
All Armenian Fund

Patrick Devedjian, President of the French Department of Hauts-de-Seine, and
Bédros Terzian, President of Fonds Arménien de France (the French affiliate
of Hayastan All Armenian Fund), have signed a convention to set up a program
for agricultural development in the Tavush region, Northern Armenia.

Tavush is one of the poorest areas of Armenia, where the productivity of the
agricultural sector can be substantially improved with the introduction of
modern equipment and quality seeds. At present, only 45% of the arable land
is exploited, mainly due to the lack of water and insufficient technical
equipment.

The 500,000 euro (US$675,000) grant by the French Department for the year
2009 will be a major contribution for the financing of a two-year program
for revamping the irrigation network, setting up a milk gathering station as
well as an agricultural base with tractors and combined harvesters. A
particular effort will be made towards technical training and the
improvement of production quality.

The signing of the Convention was preceded by the unanimous vote in favor of
this grant by the Department’s Assembly, a sign of the confidence inspired
by the French affiliate of the Hayastan All Armenian Fund as a partner for
local and regional authorities in carrying out development projects.

The criteria followed by the Department in choosing partners for
international cooperation include the latters’ skills, past experience,
transparency as well as the integral value of the project itself. Armenia is
one of the four countries included in the Hauts-de-Seine poverty eradication
program. Others include Cambodia, Mali and Haiti.