YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–Since 1995–Germany has rendered assistance worth a total of 141 German Marks to Armenia. As Armenia receives a third of EU financing from Germany–the overall German assistance rendered to Armenia during the period has amounted to $190 million.
These figures were announced by German’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Volker Seitz during a seminar on "German Assistance to Armenia in Building Democracy and Modern Market Economy" organized for mass media representatives in Tsaghkadzor from August 7-11. During the seminar organized by the Finance and Banking College and assisted by the German Embassy–the Ambassador also mentioned that German financing helped create an additional 13,000 jobs in Armenia. In the Ambassador’s estimation–for a small country like Armenia the mentioned figures can be regarded as considerable.
The Ambassador added that Germany is not involved in independent programs in Armenia–but supports the realization of other projects submitted by the Armenian Government.
Among the current large programs assisted by the German Government are the following: Rehabilitation of industrial and electricity transmitting infrastructure (54 million Marks)–rehabilitation of communal water-supply and water-way systems (32 million Marks)–and assistance to the financial sector and SMEs (14 million Marks). Germany has also rendered technical assistance in legal issues regarding local government and improved work of the Armenian National Assembly’s Supervisory Chamber. The German Embassy in Armenia has drawn up and published a Guide Book for Cooperation to be provided to possible German investors.
The Ambassador reported that jointly with the Embassy of France in Armenia–a special site will be created on the Internet to furnish data on German companies intending to make investmen’s in Armenia’s economy. Seitz also announced that he had personally asked a number of German companies to share in the funding of the French University in Armenia. The latter is supposed to grow into a modern French-German High School of Business Administration.
Meanwhile–the German Ambassador expressed discontent over the absence of booklets containing information about the country at the Armenian pavilion displayed within the framework of EXPO 2000 in Hanover. The same can be said about the earlier arranged Days of Armenia in Berlin–Seitz remarked.