OSCE Office supports small and medium-size enterprise development in Armenia

YEREVAN, 4 November 2005 - Creating a better economic climate for entrepreneurs and small and medium-size enterprises in Armenia is the aim of a two-day international conference which started today in Yerevan.

The event, co-organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan, will allow participants to share experiences and best practices on the establishment of business incubators, an important tool for enhancing regional socio-economic development and supporting entrepreneurship, especially small and medium size companies.

"For business to thrive and for entrepreneurs to have confidence, the proper framework of economic policies, institutions and legislation must be in place," said Jeannette Kloetzer, Economic and Environment Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan, referring to the OSCE Strategic Document for the Economic and Environmental Dimension, adopted in December 2003 in Maastricht.

Participants, including about 70 representatives of governmental institutions, business associations, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and academia, as well as international experts from Switzerland, Norway, Germany, United States, Ukraine, Georgia and other countries, will discuss policies for developing institutional economic infrastructure and best practices in business incubation.

A feasibility study project for the establishment of business incubators in two Armenian districts, supported by the OSCE Office in co-operation with UNDP and GTZ/ProSME, will also be introduced at the conference.

Armenia's Minister of Trade and Economic Development, Karen Chshmarityan, highlighted the co-operation with international organizations, which contributes to the implementation of the national policy for entrepreneurship development as the core of the economic reforms in the Republic of Armenia.

In its economic dimension activities, the OSCE Office particularly concentrates on assisting Armenia in coping with the process of economic transition and counter-acting economic threats to security and stability.