Artsakh  Newsletter

VOLUME 4, No. 7

AUIE and ADA Representatives Visit Nagorno Karabakh

(Continued from page 1)

conditions have been created to attract foreign capital.  For example, the tax code has been simplified, tax privileges have been introduced to investors and bureaucratic procedures reduced.  As a result, investments from the United States, Canada,

France, Australia, Switzerland, Russia, Lebanon and Armenia have significantly increased.  Ghoukasian emphasized that the NKR authorities strongly encourage mutually beneficial relations with the Armenian Diaspora.  AUIE members underscored the importance of development and

strengthening of ties among the entrepreneurs of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh and pledged to assist local businessmen in finding markets for their products. 

National Assembly Chairman Met with His Armenian Counterpart

Stepanakert, July 28.  President Arkady Ghoukasian received the Vice President of the U.S.-based Cafesjian Family Foundation John Waters.  Representing the President of the Foundation, Gerald Cafesjian, Waters informed the President of the decision to participate in the financing of the construction of a hydropower plant in Mataghis village.  Ghoukasian thanked Waters for the Cafesjian Foundation's participation in several development projects in Nagorno Karabakh. 

Stepanakert, July 23.  A group of NKR Defense Army soldiers and officers was honored at a ceremony dedicated to the ninth anniversary of the elimination of Azerbaijani military targets in Agdam.  President Arkady Ghoukasian presented military decorations.  The town of Agdam was a launch-pad for massive Azeri attacks during the war and was used to indiscriminately shell the population of Stepanakert and surrounding villages with heavy artillery fire.  The Defense Army was able to establish control over Agdam and other surrounding strategic heights and create a security belt around the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in order to provide security for its population.

"Armenian Copper" Registers Branch

Stepanakert, July 20.  Director of the "Armenian Copper" enterprise Valery Mejlumian announced that his company recently registered a branch in Nagorno Karabakh.  Mejlumian said that currently the specialists of "Armenian Copper" are exploring options for using local raw materials.  A proposal to use copper and gold mines in Drmbon village of Jraberd province, which would create hundreds of new jobs, is also being revieweds. 

Stepanakert, July 19.  President Arkady Ghoukasian received French-Armenian benefactors Karpis, Nicole, Mariam and Sona Nikoghosian.  The family recently financed construction of a new school building in Shekher village of Varanda province.  Ghoukasian thanked the Nikoghosian family and briefed them on other humanitarian programs implemented in Nagorno Karabakh by Diaspora Armenians. 

Jraberd province, July 12.  OSCE representatives monitored the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan in the northern part of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Coordinator of the Tbilisi OSCE office Lt. Col. Imre Palatinus (Hungary), Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Jan Reppa (Slovakia) and Representative of the OSCE High Level Planning Group Andrey Bubnov (Russia) led the moni

toring mission from the direction of the NKR Defense Army.  Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk led the monitoring group from the direction of the Azerbaijani armed forces. The monitoring missions were conducted without incident and followed a prearranged schedule.  Representatives of the NKR Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense accompanied the OSCE monitoring mission.

the Richard Tufenkian School in Stepanakert, providing funds for all necessary equipment and furniture.  Ghoukasian thanked the benefactors for their support and said that the government continues to seek new ways to advance economic development of Nagorno Karabakh.  Stress

ing the importance of direct foreign investments, he briefed the Armenian-American benefactors on several business projects, financed by Diaspora Armenians.  The guests expressed their intention to continue assisting the people of Nagorno Karabakh.   

Stepanakert, July 8.  President  Arkady Ghoukasian received longtime friends of Artsakh, Armenian-American philanthropists Ralph and Savey Tufenkian, Hakob and Mina Shirvanian and Martin Feligian.  Recently, the Tufenkians sponsored the installation of a new computer lab at

Stepanakert July 29.  President Arkady Ghoukasian received NKR Defense Army officers, who have graduated from higher military educational institutions outside of Nagorno Karabakh and returned to continue their service.  He congratulated the young officers and emphasized that the NKR army is the main guarantor of security for the people of Nagorno Karabakh.  Ghoukasian also stressed the importance of increasing the number of officers with professional military education in the Karabakh armed forces.         

Stepanakert, July 10.  President Arkady Ghoukasian received the coordinator of the Armenian branch of the Howard Karagheusian Commemorative Corporation, Kamo Ter-Petrosian.  Karagheusian Corporation has been implementing

pediatric dentistry projects for six years in Nagorno Karabakh.  It provided the dental center in Stepanakert with modern equipment and medicine and currently trains local dentists.  During the past six years, the center has treated more than 10,000 chil

dren.  Ter-Petrosian informed Ghoukasian that next year the Karagheusian Corporation will start a new ophthalmology project.  Ghoukasian expressed gratitude to the Karagheusian Corporation for its humanitarian activity in Nagorno Karabakh.