Friday, 10 June 2005
On a working visit to Japan, RA Prime Minister A. Margaryan met with Vice President of the JICA Azoushi Hatakenaka and visited Sumitomo and Panasonic companies on June 9. Prior to these meetings he had given an interview to the correspondent of Japan Broadcasting Corporation State TV company. The interview covered a broad range of political and economic issues. The correspondent inquired into Armenia's views on the revolutionary processes underway in a number of CIS republics, in particular, Armenia's relationships with Russia and the U.S.A., Armenia's foreign policy priorities, its relationships with the regional neighbors, the impact of the blockade on the national economy, the factor of the Diaspora, the prospects for the development of Armenian-Japanese cooperation, the scope of issues discussed during the Prime Minister's visit and the arrangements made. With reference to the relationship with the neighboring countries, the Prime Minister spoke about the pre-conditions put forward by Turkey, blockade, the Karabakh conflict and the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Appreciative of the JICA's activities in Armenia, Mr. Margaryan indicated during the meeting with its Vice President that, along with the Japanese Bank of International Development (JBIC), the JICA was among those Japanese institutions with which close ties of cooperation had been established already.
The Prime Minister thanked the management of the agency on behalf of the government of the Republic of Armenia for the programs implemented in our country and for the assistance etxended under the Official Development Assistance Facility (ODA). He stressed the fact that this assistance was continued notwithstanding the recent curtailment of ODA budget.
As far as technical assistance was concerned, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the program realised by JOCV experts in Armenia. The Prime Minister said to be pleased with the recent arrangement made with the Japanese side over the implementation of human resource development programs in the Armenian private sector, which is in perfect harmony with RA government's decision on having a concept for SME development and relevant support measures.
Mr. A. Margaryan stated that the priority fields for the ODA assistance
