OSCE Office to strengthen support for small and medium enterprises in Armenia

YEREVAN, 20 March 2007- Intensifying efforts to help Armenian small and medium enterprises prosper is the purpose of a memorandum of understanding signed today by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Centre of Armenia (SME DNC).

The document says both signatories will help authorities as they develop SME Support Policy, implement support programmes and foster integration into international and pan-European professional networks.

"By co-operating to counteract threats and challenges caused by economic and environmental factors,OSCE participating States can make a crucial contribution to security, stability, democracy and prosperity in the OSCE region," said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. "Joining international professional networks would benefit SME development and strengthen Armenia's international presence."

Ishkhan Karapetyan, Executive Director of SME DNC, added: "This agreement opens a new stage of co-operation between the OSCE and SME DNC that will benefit Armenia's sustainable economic development and create additional opportunities for SMEs to integrate into the international market."

The agreement foresees joint activities to promote SME development in Armenia, such as international conferences and thematic workshops and assistance to Armenia as it strives to join international treaties and charters.

The OSCE Office in Yerevan and SME DNC of Armenia has co-operated since 2004. In 2006, the Office assisted with the development of a system of indicators to evaluate SME development. It also helped compile and publish the SME Statistical Reference Book 2005-2006.