Mr. Chairman,

Ms. Executive Secretary,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me express on behalf of the delegation of the Republic of Armenia our gratitude to the Royal Thai Government, Ms. Noeleen Heyzer, the Executive Secretary, and the Secretariat of the UN ESCAP for the excellent organization of the 64th   Session of the Commission and to wish efficient and productive work.

Armenia considers the cooperation with the UN ESCAP as one of the priority directions within the framework of regional cooperation. The Government of Armenia adopted a basic policy of infrastructure development aimed at the substantial impact on poverty reduction and sustainable economic growth.

Let me briefly perform in this confined statement some current developments in priority areas of Armenian economic infrastructures.

Mr. Chairman,

Armenia is a landlocked mountainous country and the only outlets to the sea are by Georgia in the North and by Iran in the South. Due to its favorable geographical location Armenia is appeared on the crossroads between West and East, North and South and plays its active role in the development of International transport corridors of TRACECA, North-South and South-Eastern axis of the main trans-European transportation ways.

In 2005 Armenia joined the Intergovernmental Agreement on The Asian Highway Network. Within this scope the new motorway between Armenia and Iran has been completed recently. The related institutions have been actively involved in the drafting process of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network, which was signed in 2006.
In 2005 Armenia officially joined the Trans-European Motorway and Trans-European Railway Projects of the UN ECE and the North-South International Transport Corridor Intergovernmental Agreement, which is considered to be the most effective transport project connecting Europe and Asia.

Unfortunately, the unsettled Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (Azerbaijan is trying to dismantle the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship, and therefore the only existing negotiating format) and the continuous unilateral closure of the Armenian Western border by the Turkey while caused partial collapse of the motorway and railway systems are still creating many difficulties for the sustainable economic development of our country particularly in the field of international and regional transport communication. Only 342 km out of 840 km of the common length of Armenian railway is in use today.

Armenia closely cooperates with international financial organizations on the implementation of several transport projects regarding to the reconstruction and modernization of motorways and railways infrastructure. The US Millennium Challenge program for 2006-2010 amounts to 67 million US dollars out of the total assistance of 236.5 million for the development of the rural areas particularly aimed at the road reconstruction.
The negotiations between the Government of Armenia and the Asian Development Bank for the reconstruction of the rural community roads infrastructure had been held during 2006-2007. The negotiations have been resulted in signing of the 30.6 million dollars soft loan agreement. The first stage of implementation of the project provides for about 20 million dollars to rehabilitate 220 km of rural roads.

Mr. Chairman,
The energy sector of Armenia is currently one of the fully operational and cost-effective branches of the country's economy. Armenia fully covers energy demand in the internal market and exports electricity to Georgia, as well as successfully performs an electricity exchange with Iran on mutually beneficial basis.

The main objective of the Armenian energy sector development strategy is the formulation of the strategic targets for the development of the Armenian energy sector and determining the fundamental directions towards their achievement, based on the sustainable development principles for society in general and the energy sector in particular, adopted by the international community, and guided by the provisions of the National Energy Security Strategy of the Republic of Armenia. On the basis of the Strategy the Action Plan of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Armenia was adopted last year.
In 2007 the National Program on Energy Saving and Renewable Energy was adopted. The main purpose of the Program is to set targets for the energy saving and renewable energy development in Armenia and to determine the means for their realization.

The current power system in Armenia includes mainly thermo-power, hydro-power plants and the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant. The total power resources are defined by the value of more than 3 000 MW.

In 2006 the government of Japan decided to provide 160 million US dollars loan for the Yerevan thermo-power plant (TPP) reconstruction.  The loan will be granted with 0,75 % and 40 years of paying off from which 10 years will be the years of grace. The Agreement between the Japanese Bank of International Cooperation and the Ministry of Energy has been signed in 2007.
The loan will support the program of reconstruction of Yerevan TPP via construction of “Combined circle steam-gas power unit”. This will result in benefit of 19,4 million USD only from fuel saving with atmosphere emissions at 2.5 times less than are produced by the current unit.

Last year the opening of 40km part of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline took place in Armenian southern-most town of Meghri. The construction of   the 140 km-length pipeline through the territories of Iran and Armenia was commenced in 2005.
Almost 33 million USD was invested for construction of the Armenian part of the pipeline with 15 % co-financing from the Armenian side. The rest of the money was provided by the Iranian Export Development Bank. Last year the Energy Ministers of Armenia and Iran signed an Agreement on Construction and Operation of Meghri Hydro-power plant.

A statement for cooperation between the US Government and the Ministry of Energy of Armenia was signed last year, according to which the parties will cooperate for preparation of the required studies for construction of a new nuclear unit in Armenia. The “Feasibility Study” and the “Environmental Impact Assessment” will be the main focus of the studies. The results of these studies will be used by the Armenian government to choose the best technical solutions and project implementation principles. They will also serve as a basis for negotiations with potential suppliers and international financing institutions.

Mr. Chairman,

In 2007, Armenia was on target to expand at a double-digit growth rate for the sixth consecutive year and remain among the most rapidly growing economies in the region. GDP of the country expanded by 13.8% in 2007.
Construction, agriculture, tourism and services sectors were the most significant contributions to GDP growth in Armenia. Growth in construction was strong owing to new investment in industrial production and a boom in residential and office development. Economic growth became more broad-based with greater contributions of such services as trade and communications. The agricultural output grew by 9.6 % in 2007.
The main priorities for 2008-2009 as well will include improving governance and reducing poverty, increasing tax collection through the abolition of tax exemptions, and improving the operating environment for the small and medium-sized businesses. 10 % GDP growth is envisaged in 2008 and annual economic growth of at least 8% in 2009.     

Mr. Chairman,

In the end, I avail myself of this opportunity to once again congratulate all of us on the occasion of the UN ESCAP 64th session and to wish successful work to all delegations and participants.

THANK YOU