This fall seems very busy for the Armenian capital in the context of business and political cooperation with the RF. On October 12 Yerevan hosted a meeting of Armenian-Russian inter-government committee. The Russian delegation is headed by newly appointed Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov. The event is really important for both sides, as the participants discussed key issues of bilateral relations in all fields – economy, culture, defense sector. An agreement on economic cooperation between Armenia and Russia until 2020 was signed during the meeting. Armenian Prime Minister, Armenian co-chairman of the commission Tigran Sargsyan said that the document covers almost all cooperation directions between two countries.
To mention, The volume of Russian investments in Armenia over the last 20 years totaled about $3bln. According to the data of the National Statistical Service of Armenia, the volume of direct Russian investments to Armenia in the first half of 2012 decreased by over 80%. The statistics of the current year shows that Russian investments have already exceeded $800mln during 8 months, and in 2011 the trade turnover between Russia and Armenia totaled $1bln.
During the meeting at the session of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation the participants discussed the issue of possible changes of tariffs for the gas supplied from Russia to Armenia. The Chairman of the Commission, Minister of Transport of Russia Maxim Sokolov told that the negotiations on the issue are underway and they are dynamically advancing it.
Within the framework of the meeting The 2012-2015 cooperation program between the ministries of culture of Armenia and the Russian Federation was signed. The document was signed by the Armenian Minister of Culture, Hasmik Poghosyan, and RF Deputy Minister of Culture, Andrei Busygin. The cooperation program comprises eighteen articles that will regulate the Armenian-Russian cultural cooperation in the fields of culture and art between 2012 and 2015.
The second forum of inter-regional cooperation is scheduled for October 13. Representatives of 16 Russian regions will attend the forum. The delegates will visit Armenia’s regions to get familiarized with the opportunities of developing bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, tourism and culture.
In October, Armenia will also host the Days of Russian language.
Besides all these events, the official visit of the president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin is planned to take place at the end of October or at the beginning of November.
