Wednesday, 24 October 2007
On the morning of October 23 - the last day of the official visit to the USA - RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan met with US Assistant Secretary of State Reuben Geoffrey.
There have been discussed issues concerning the current status and the prospects for the development of the Armenian-American economic cooperation. In particular, the parties have addressed the activities of the USA-Armenia economic task force and the possibilities for further improvement of investment environment in Armenia. The Assistant Secretary of State said that the US authorities were pleased to see that the US government assistance had helped Armenia make serious progress. Serzh Sargsyan noted that considerable amount of work has been carried out in Armenia over the past few years in terms of laying a solid groundwork for economic development, and a primary task for the period ahead is to speed up the pace of development. The parties have agreed that Armenia should be competitive on a global scale so as to win a share in cross-country investment markets.
On concluding their meeting, Serzh Sargsyan and Reuben Geoffrey attended and addressed the opening session of the US-Armenian economic task force. The Assistant Secretary of State emphasized the stability in the Armenian economy and the tendency for reduction of rural poverty. He stressed that the proceedings of the task force had been growing in importance to cover a broader array of sectors. In turn, Serzh Sargsyan noted that authorities in Armenia are currently concentrating on the development of rural settlements and the lowering of the level of poverty. In addition to the assistance received from abroad, the government seeks to use Armenia
's domestic resources for the decision of countryside problems.After the session, RA Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatryan and Coordinator of US assistance to Eurasian and European Countries Thomas Adams signed an agreement on cooperation in the sphere of joint and safe exploitation of civil aviation.
At noon, the Prime Minister gave an interview to
"Reuters" news agency. Most of over a dozen of questions asked referred to USA-Armenia, NATO-Armenia and Armenia-Iran relationships, the process of our country's European integration etc. Answering the question on Armenian Genocide recognition, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan said that it was a sorrowful and important issue to any Armenian and, before coming to the USA, he had promised to the people of Armenia that he would thank in person all those who had backed the passing of Resolution 106 in the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives. The Prime Minister availed himself of the opportunity to address words of appreciation to those congressmen who had voted for the Resolution, as well as those who voted against while acknowledging the fact of Genocide.Under the program of the visit, Serzh Sargsyan further met with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Addressing the course of democratic and economic reforms underway in Armenia, the Prime Minister briefed the Secretary of State on the actions implemented by Armenian authorities to that effect. In particular, he noted that in the wake of the latest parliamentary elections in Armenia, good pre-requisites have been created for continued improvement of electoral processes in our country. On behalf of the US government, Condoleezza Rice expressed readiness to assist Armenia as necessary with the decision of such technical problems as may arise during the presidential elections of 2008. In discussing the Karabakh settlement issue, the parties have indicated the need of expediting this process as much as possible. Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan mentioned that the recently activated warlike statements on the part of Azerbaijan may compromise the process. The interlocutors have also referred to Armenia
's relations with the other neighboring States, security- and energy-related items, Armenia's involvement in peacekeeping actions and other issues of mutual interest.In the second half of the day, Serzh Sargsyan met with the Hrair Hovnanian-led membership of the Board of the Armenian Assembly of America. The parties have discussed issues regarding the current activities and the planned action of the AAA and exchanged views on the challenges faced by Armenia at this point of time.
The official visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia was concluded by a reception organized in honor of the RA Prime Minister at the Armenian Embassy in the United States as attended by senior officials from the US Department of State, defense ministry, other government agencies, as well as the top management of the World Bank and the IMF. In attendance were also the representatives of the USA-based Armenian organizations.
RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan's Statement at Session of the US-Armenian
Task Force on Economic Questions
Dear Partners, Ladies and Gentlemen,
With a great pleasure, I welcome the participants of this session of the US-Armenian task force on economic questions and I wish all of us effective and fruitful work. Though this planned session is held a year later than planned, I am convinced that the given circumstance cannot influence anyway our cooperation which has been developing normally and will deepen during the next years.
A key donor of humanitarian assistance, the United States hold an important place in the political and economic life of Armenia and the relationship with the USA constitute a basic direction of Armenia's foreign policy. The USA-Armenia relations cover a broad sector of cooperation and are characterized by high dynamics of development. Since the very first years of independence, the US government has been backing and strengthening Armenia
