OSCE Office in Yerevan opens first local office outside capital

YEREVAN, 30 June 2006 - The OSCE Office in Yerevan yesterday opened a local office in Kapan, the main city of Syunik province, with a ceremony attended by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Armen Baibourtian and Syunik Governor, Suren Khachatryan.

The new office, led by Garik Chilingaryan, will support local stakeholders in promoting economic development by attracting domestic and foreign investors to the region. It will also focus on environmental risks in the region, which besides being famous for its beauty, is also the location of a significant mining industry.

Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, said at the opening ceremony: "We believe that the new Office will contribute to small and medium-size enterprise development, poverty reduction and increased investments in the region."

The Deputy Foreign Minister added: "Armenia affords special importance to the development of its regions and rural areas, and Syunik has been chosen to be the first [such office location] due to its strategic importance."

The Kapan office began work by launching a project to establish a business incubator in Goris, another important town in the region. It also opened a Public Environmental Information (Aarhus) Centre in Goris, to improve environmental awareness and participation in the region.

The main OSCE Office in Yerevan has already published a tourist guide to Syunik and assessed the impact of mining on environmental security and human health in the city of Kapan.