French Development Agency to allocate € 75 mln loan to ArmeniaNovember 26, 2015 - 13:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian government and the French Development Agency will sign a € 75 million loan agreement to finance the construction of Vedi reservoir, Panorama.am reports. According to Finance Minister Gagik Khachatryan, the project will help ease water scarcity in Ararat plain, as well as switch to automatic irrigation systems, which will, in turn, lead to energy savings. “The loan envisages a 20-year maturity date, including a 6-year grace period,” Khachatryan said. Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan said the government has declared the reservoir construction a key priority sector, ordering the heads of the agencies in charge to manage the technical part of the work as soon as possible to start the construction in February-March, next year. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |