ARMENIAN PRESIDENT URGES LOCAL ORE-DRESSING ENTERPRISES TO KEEP WORKING

ARKA
Apr 1, 2009

YEREVAN, April 1. /ARKA/. Armenia’s large ore dressing and processing
enterprises must keep working, RA President Serzh Sargsyan said
Tuesday during his meeting with Syunik region’s authorities.

The president stared his two-day visit from the Kajaran-based copper
and molybdenum plant. "We have got added evidence that the plant
was working and implementing its development program," Sargsyan was
quoted saying

Touching upon the plants in Agarak and Kajaran, the president pointed
out intensive efforts of owners to overcome all hardships.

Sargsyan urged the tree mining giants of Syunik region (the
Zangezur-based Kajaran copper-molybdenum plant, Kapan-based ore
dressing and processing enterprise and Agarak copper-molybdenum plant)
to keep working amid the crisis.

"They must work even with zero profits, realizing that they both
solve key social issues and gain profits," the president said. "If
the Kajaran-based enterprise had not worked in the early 1990s and
2000s despite hardships, it would not have earned so much profit in
the past 5-6 years," he continued.

Sargsyan vowed staunch support to those enterprises, urging them to
share their expectations with the government.

As a result of the plunge in copper and molybdenum prices, metal
prices dropped about 3.5pct in the past months, the president said as
he comment ed on the harsh situation in Armenia’s metal market. "Since
those enterprises have a lion’s share in exports, it is natural that
we face problems with exports and state revenues," Sargsyan added.

The president said the government had always discussed with the
leaders of the sector the existing problems, trying to find way-outs.

Sargsyan stressed the role of the government-private sector cooperation
to address major problems.

However, not all enterprises were able to make shrewd decisions to
weather the crisis, the president said. "Devaluation of the Armenian
dram and other positive developments in the global metal prices seem
to create favorable conditions and we should take benefits of the
situation," Sargsyan concluded.