18 02 2007 - "Saint Armenia" Exhibition to Open in Louvre

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"Saint Armenia" Exhibition to Open in Louvre with Participation of Presidents of Armenia and France
Yerevan, February 16, 2007 /Noyan Tapan/. RA President Robert Kocharian will leave on four-day official visit for France on February 17.
A meeting of Presidents Robert Kocharian and Jacques Chirac will take place in Paris. The RA President will also have meetings with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Senate President Christian Poncelet, National Assembly Speaker Jean-Louis Debre.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA President's Press Office, Robert Kocharian and First Lady Bella Kocharian will be present at the "Charles Aznavour and Friends" concert which will take place in the Opera Garnier of Paris. The concert will be held within the framework of the Year of Armenia in France. Mr. and Mrs. Kocharians will also visit Hovh. Aivazovsky's exhibition organized at the sea museum, "Armenian 12 Capitals" exhibition as well. The "Saint Armenia" exhibition will open in Louvre with participation of the Presidents of Armenia and France.
The President will meet in Paris with representatives of the Armenian community as well.
The delegation headed by Robert Kocharian will leave Paris for Nice where it will participate in the ceremony of opening the Park of Armenia and will have meetings with the city administration.
Reference: The Armenian-French mutual relations have had a stable development since establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Besides, the national-state interests, centuries-old historic-cultural ties of the two peoples and presence of a big and influential Armenian community in France became a serious factor for development of mutual relations.

Taking into consideration the weight of France in world and European processes, the circumstance of its being Co-Chair in the OSCE Minsk Group, a problem matured to give a new meaning to the Armenian-French relations and nominate a new agenda of dialogue. Robert Kocharian's working visit paid to France on June 30, 2000, became a start for it. It had its consistent continuation during the state visit paid on February 12-16, 2001 by RA President Robert Kocharian to France at the invitation of President Jacques Chirac.

An agreement was reached in April of 2004 between the Presidents of the two countries to announce the Year of Armenia to France. The state visit paid by President of France Jacques Chirac to Armenia from September 29 to October 1 of 2006 had an exclusive meaning in the sense of both future development of relations and deepening of the EU-Armenia cooperation, in general, increase of the international prestige of Armenia. The French President's visit was an evidence of friendly relations between the two peoples, the high level of cooperation of the two states, a close dialogue established among the highest administration.
The Year of Armenia in France, which is entitled "Armenia, My Friend," started on September 30, 2006 with opening of the French square in Yerevan and with the "Charles Aznavour and His Friends" concert at the Republic square with participation of the two countries' Presidents.
France was the first country in the world which recognized the Armenian Genocide by the law. The law was signed by President of France Jacques Chirac on January 18, 2001. The draft law was presented to the National Assembly of France by the Socialist Party.
The draft law envisaging punishment for denial of the Armenian Genocide was proposed for discussion on the initiative of the same Socialist Party on May 18, 2006. The National Assembly of France adopted the draft on October 12.

Commercial and economic relations also actively develop between Armenia and France, though those are still far from complete usage of the potential the two sides have. Two French companies, Pernod Ricard and Castel, are among the big foreign investors in Armenia.

The Saur company, the subsidiary enterprise of the French big Bouygues group won the competition announced for heading the water supply system of Armenia in June, 2004. Saur implements the World Bank "Community Water Supply and Drainage" credit program with the total cost of 23.0 mln U.S. dollars in 37 cities and 268 rural settlements of Armenia (besides Yerevan).
Another French company, "General des Eaux" serves water systems of the city of Yerevan and neighboring 30 settlements by 10-year tenancy starting from June 1, 2006. The organization will also implement during 5 years the World Bank "Water Supply and Drainage of Yerevan" credit program the total cost of which makes 20.0 mln U.S. dollars.
The French Air France company started regular air transportations by the Paris-Yerevan-Paris run starting from late March, 2006.
In September, 2006, one of the biggest French banks, Credit Agricole S.A became the biggest shareholder of the ACBA bank, and the bank was renamed ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK CJSC.
The goods circulation between Armenia and France made 64787.1 thousand U.S. dollars in January-November of 2006, instead of 39098.9 thousand U.S. dollars of the same period of the previous year.
Owing to the position and merit of French Armenians in different spheres of public activity as well as from the viewpoint of interest created towards Armenians by French highest authorities, political forces and the whole society, the French Armenian community is one of the most influential centers of Diaspora. This is the biggest Armenian community of Europe (about 450.000 Armenians) and is one of the most important communities for its thickness and organization. Armenians mainly live in Paris and surroundings, in south - Marseilles, central regions - the cities of Lyons, Valence.
Church, educational and cultural institutions, professional unions, youth, sports and humanitarian organizations function in France, the number of which passes 300 at present.

V.V