YEREVAN—On April 2, the USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness Project and the Armenian Monuments Awareness Project announced the Black Sea Silk Road Corridor project, a two-year initiative that fosters tourism development, cross-border cooperation and economic development in 173 communities across four countries of the Black Sea Silk Road Corridor – Armenia, Georgia, Greece and Turkey. A trail of cultural sites will be marked throughout the region.
The President of AMAP, Richard Ney, explained how the trail will be marked, which Armenian cultural, historical and natural sites will be part of the trail and how the project will be implemented during the next two years. The Armenian trail will encompass 43 sites in the capital Yerevan as well as in Shirak, Aragatsotn, Kotayk, Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor, and Syunik provinces.
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Traian Laurentiu Hristea, Deputy Minister of Economy Garegin Melkonyan, Deputy Minister of Culture Arev Samuelyan, President of the Armenian branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS-Armenia) and Director of Erebuni Museum Gagik Gyurjian were present during the announcement and delivered remarks.
In Armenia the project is funded by the EU Black Sea Cross Border Cooperation framework, USAID through its EDMC Project, and AMAP as the lead implementer. The Project is expected to alleviate rural isolation and develop local communities through the creation of tourism networks and the promotion of local (rural) services and traditional products.
The USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC) Project seeks to improve Armenia’s business environment and support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This five-year project aims to increase employment and income in Armenia by promoting growth in select value chains that have strong export potential – high technologies, pharmaceuticals/biotechnologies, food processing, and hospitality.
The Armenian Monuments Awareness Project (AMAP) partners with the Ministry of Culture on a multi-year project to increase awareness of Armenia’s historical, cultural and natural monuments by creating and installing signed, print, multimedia and online information at selected sites. For more information please visit the AMAP website at: http://www.armenianmonuments.org.
