UNITED STATES-ARMENIA JOINT ECONOMIC TASKFORCE

US Department of State
1331.htm
Nov 4 2009

The U.S. Department of State welcomed Nersis Yeritsian, Armenia’s
Minister of Economy, and his delegation for the 18th iteration of the
U.S.-Armenia Joint Economic Taskforce (USATF). During his visit to the
U.S., Minister Yeritsian and his team met with officials from several
agencies in the U.S. Government, including the Department of State,
Department of Treasury, Department of Commerce, and the Office of
the U.S. Trade Representative.

The USATF, established in 2000, has met semi-annually to provide a
forum in which to further cooperation between our two countries,
advance economic and market reforms in Armenia, and discuss
opportunities for U.S. assistance to contribute to Armenia’s long-term
economic development. The task force is an open forum to discuss issues
of concern and interest to both countries. This year’s discussion in
Washington, D.C., co-chaired by Daniel N. Rosenblum, Coordinator for
Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, and Minister Yeritsian, focused
on the following themes: promoting good governance and democracy
development, addressing regional issues, and enhancing the business
climate in Armenia. The resulting action plan, which details the
specific actions each side will take to further our mutual cooperation
on Armenia’s development, includes items from all of these areas.

The U.S. Government and the Government of Armenia concluded an
important agreement on science and technology cooperation as part of
the Task Force’s meetings in Washington, D.C. The Director of the
National Science Foundation, Dr. Arden Bement Jr., joined Minister
Yeritsian in signing a memorandum of understanding that will facilitate
cooperation in numerous areas of mutual interest between the United
States and Armenia, including information technology, intellectual
property, earth sciences, and others.