It is more realistic to create tourism, health and educational centers
in Armenia

2

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The purpose of the National
Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia (NCFA) is to ensure economic
development and promote competition in the country. The director of
NCFA Bekor Papazian stated at the March 10 press conference that with
this aim the Foundation is developing strategic programs. "After the
end of the global financial and economic crisis, many countries will be
in a sad state but Armenia should be able to get out of the crisis with
higher competitiveness bases than it has today," he said.

B. Papazian informed those present that the NCFA is working out
anticrisis measures that will mainly include 3 sectors: health, tourism
and education. In his opinion, it is more realistic to create tourism,
health and educational centers in our country. "Armenia has great
potential in the tourism sector, but it is not used. Our aim is to use
this potentail and turn Armenia into a center of tourism," he
underlined, adding the government has already approved the programs on
restoration of the Tatev Monastery Complex, installation of a
Cyclone-30 isotope production unit at Alikhanian Physics Institite, and
creation of a Nuclear Medicine Center.

The NCFA has also developed the Tumanian Garden educational program
that envisages creating a number of educational centers as well as IT
and innovation organizations in Yerevan’s Tumanian Garden.

The NCFA is a nonstate organization which operates by the state-private
sector cooperation principle. Its Board of Trustees is headed by the
prime minister Tigran Sargsyan. The Foundation will cooperate with
ministries, implementing priority programs of the government.