Tuesday, 27 September 2005
Today RA Prime Minister A. Margaryan has received Senior Vice-President of German KfW Bank (Credit Institution for Reconstruction) Mr. Norbert Kloppenburg.
Welcoming the KfW's Senior Vice-President, in charge of the Eurasian region, the Prime Minister expressed the hope that this would give a new impetus to the further development of the Armenian-German financial cooperation.
During the meeting satisfaction was expressed on either side at the pace of the cooperation dating from 1995 and having led to about Euro150MN extended to Armenia, of which 35 millions available in the form of grants. It was mentioned that over the last ten years of its operations in Armenia, the Bank had implemented a number of sizeable projects, including a housing project for refugees, the rehabilitation of the Kanaker HPP, the refurbishment of "Kamo" and "Vanadzor-2" substations in the high-voltage transmission network, another project for the technical re-equipment of hospitals and, finally, the establishment of the German-Armenian fund for small and medium-size enterprise promotion. A number of key projects were said to be underway in the areas of water supply, water drainage, banking, energy, health care, environmental protection and other fields.
Prime Minister A. Margaryan and Senior Vice-President Norbert Kloppenburg have discussed the development outlook and the priority areas of bilateral financial cooperation for the years ahead. Pleased with the successful completion of the joint programs in the field of energy, the head of the Armenian government said to be appreciative of the attention given by the German bank to the rehabilitating energy sector of Armenia, including small HPPs and wind energy in particular, in full line with the general strategy of the Armenian government.
Mr. Margaryan expressed himself favorably on the efforts employed so far for the implementation of the Armavir marz water supply program by noting that, based on the past experience, the GoA was firmly determined to continue collaborating with the KfW in this area as well.
The Armenian Prime Minister also said to be appreciative of the assistance extended on the part of the KfW for the promotion of the mortgage-loan market in our country. He suggested expediting the preparations to this program of utmost importance to the population of Armenia in order to proceed to actual disbursments under this program as soon as possible. Emphasizing the role of leading donor organization assigned to the KfW in the matter of shaping and developing the mortgage-loan market in Armenia, the Prime Minister, at the same time, stressed the need in keeping up the discussions with other international institutions to provide for better coordination and best efficiency in the work with all the stakeholders of this market.
Mr. Norbert Kloppenburg thanked the Prime Minister and the government of Armenia for the fruitful joint work performed over the last ten years. He said to be more optimistic about the successful completion of future programs as he had been familiarized with the on-going projects during the visits paid to the province and different communities. In prioritizing the programs underway and pending in the energy sector, including the rehabilitation and construction of small HPPs in particular, the development of public utilities and small and medium-size entrepreneurship and so on, the Senior Vice-President expressed willingness of supporting our country in its efforts for the development of the domestic mortgage-loan market. He advised that a working group from the Bank was due to arrive in Armenia this October to realize the necessary preparative work so as the program could be launched early next year. In this context, he emphasized the need in ensuring the successful operations of the Deposit Guarantee Fund. Prime Minister A. Margaryan said that the Government had already submitted to the National Assembly a legislative package relating to the formation of the mortgage market and expressed the hope that the package would be adopted before the end of the year.
The Parties have also referred to the possibility of carrying on with the activities of the German-Armenian fund considering its successful progress and the existing demand for similar lending.
During the meeting, Prime Minister A. Margaryan and Senior Vice-President Norbert Kloppenburg have exchanged views on a broad spectrum of financial cooperation-related issues of mutual interest.
