PRESIDENT OF ROMANIA TO ARRIVE ON TWO-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT IN ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 3 2006
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 3, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. By RA President
Robert Kocharian’s invitation, President of Romania Traian Basescu will
arrive on an official visit in Armenia on October 4-5. The main goal of
the visit is to strengthen interstate ties, to plan primary tasks and
directions of the economic cooperation between the two countries, to
stimulate development of the scientific-educational and cultural ties.
The official ceremony of meeting the President of Romania will take
place at the RA President’s residence on October 4. The ceremony
will be followed by a private conversation of Presidents Robert
Kocharian and Traian Basescu. Then the meeting with enlarged staff of
the official delegations will take place, after what joint documents
will be signed between the two countries’ governments. The Presidens
of Armenia and Romania will hold a joint press conference.
During the Armenian visit, Traian Basescu will also visit the Armenian
Genocide memorial complex, lay a wreath to the monument to victims,
will visit the Armenian Genocide Museum, plant a tree in the Memory
park.
The President of Romania will meet on Octoner 5 with Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian. His Holiness Karekin II Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians will receive the President on the same
day. Traian Basescu will have a meeting with the professors’ and
lecturers’ staff and students of the Yerevan State University.
The delegation headed by the President of Romania will leave Yerevan
on the same day.
According to the information submitted to Noyan Tapan by the RA
President’s Press Office, Romania is one of the first countries
recognized the independence of Armenia and established diplomatic
relations with the RA. The Armenian-Romanian mutual relations have
always been friendly ones which are assisted by the Romanian Armenian
community having centuries-old history. About 20 thousand Armenians
found refuge in Romania during the years followed the Armenian
Genocide.
Relations between Armenia and Romania are dinamically being developed
at present. The political dialogue is especially active. 35 agreements
and legal documents were signed between the two countries.
Appreciating the present level of bilateral relations, our country
is aimed to more strengthen the cooperation.
RA President Robert Kocharian’s state visit paid to Romania on November
16-18, 2003, greatly assisted guarantee of continuous character
and development of the bilateral relations. The two countries’
heads attached primary importance to development of the economic
cooperation. The Armenian-Romanian first business forum and opening
of the exhibition of production of Armenian enterprises took place
during the visit days.
RA President Robert Kocharian participated on June 5, 2006,
in Bucharest in works of the summit of the Black Sea Forun for
Partnership and Dialogue organized by Romania.
In the affair of development of the Armenian-Romanian relations,
the Armenian side especially attached importance to bilateral
contacts, guarantee of the continuous character of the high-ranking
mutual visits, necessity of close cooperation of the two countries’
representatives both in European structures and other international
organizations.
Armenia welcame efforts of Romania aimed to the EU membership and is
full of hopes that the year of 2007 will become a historic year for
the Romanian people. Armenia expects that Romania’s EU membership
will have a positive influence on deepening of the Armenian-Romanian
relations as well.
Unlike approaches of activization of the political dialogue,
commercial-economic relations between the two countries develop
slowly. Particularly, indexes of export from Armenia are low compared
with ones of import. However, the trade circulation between Armenia
and Russia grew in 2005 nearly twice, making 75 mln 537.9 thousand
U.S. dollars, instead of 34 mln 260.6. thousand U.S. dollars of 2004.
A number of important steps were taken during 2005 in the sphere of
the bilateral economic cooperation. Particularly, constant sale of
Armenian jewelry production was organized in Bucharest (the Yerevan
Jewelry Factory LTD signed an agreement with the Romanian ELDORADO
jewelry firm on exporting Armenian jewelry goods to Romania), a
lot of Armenian brandy samples was given to a Romanian interested
structure to study future possibilities of importing, an agreement on
exporting Cigarone cigarrettes to Romania was reached (the Romanian
DOCNET company was interested in cooperation with the Cigarone LTD),
works are continued in the direction of going on importing Romanian
furniture (the World of Furniture LTD imports Romanian furniture to
Armenia), medicine (an agreement on exporting medicine from Romania
to Armenia was signed in 2005 between the Romanian ROMFARMACHIM and
Armenian LAMBRON FARMIMPEX companies) and other goods in Armenia. The
Romanian DELTAYEL company is interested in cooperation in the sphere
of telecommunication (some specialists of the company were sent on
mission to Armenia in 2005).
A beneficial legal field exists for the economic cooperation between
Armenia and Romania, corresponding bilateral agreements are signed.
As of Novemner 30, 2005, 37 Armenian-Romanian joint enterprises were
registered in Romania, which made investment of 3 mln 538.1 thousand
U.S. dollars in the economy of Romania.
The Armenian-Romanian intergovernmental commission for
commercial-economic and scientific-technical cooperation, the second
sitting of which will take place in Yerevan on October 4, is of
important role in the sense of activization of the commercial-economic
relations. It will outline primary directions of development of the
economic cooperation. Activity of the Armenian-Romanian Trade and
Industrial Chamber founded in Bucharest in 2004 is also significant
in the sense of deepening the economic relations.
1780 people live in Romania. The community having almost millenial
history is fully involved in the public life of Romania.
The eparchic residence of the Romanian and Bulgarian Diocese of
the Armenian Apostolic Church is Bucharest. A church built in 1915
functions here. Armenian Apostolic churches function in Costanza,
Suceava, Pitesti, Braila Galatz, Iasi. Armenian Catholic churches
function in the city of Gerla, Transilvania, the community of which
is mainly formed of Hungarians of the Armenian origin.
The Romanian Armenian community organizes numerous community events,
the bilingual, Armenian and Romanian, "New Life" and Romanian "Ararat"
newspapers are published. The "Ararat" publishing house of the
Romanian-Armenian union periodically publishes Armenian and Romanian
authors’ works on Armenian themes, mainly in the Romanian language. 102
titles of books were published in 1994-2005, 10 of which in 2005.
The Grigor Zambakhchian gallery belonging to the Romanian state and
famous in the country functions in Bucharest. The Museum of Collections
opened after the reconstruction in December 2005, in the center of
Bucharest, where rich collections of Hurmuz Aznavourian, Professor
Karapet Avagian, Beatrice and Hrant Avagian occupy significant places.