ARMENIA MADE NOTABLE PROGRESS IN MARKET REFORMS, US STATE DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVE SUPPOSES

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia has made notable progress in forming legal and institutional foundations necessary for market economy. Acting coordinator of the US aid to European and Eurasian countries Thomas Adams said. As reported by "Mediamax" agency, addressing the International Affairs Committee of the US Senate the State Department representative said the most important thing for Armenia was consecutive implementation of the reformed laws. In T. Adams' words, the US administration is going to allocate $49.5 million within the Freedom Support Act in fiscal year 2004. "We consider that the assistance volume fits Armenia's proportions and its comparative strategic importance," - the diplomat stated noting the Congress always proposed more means for Armenia than the administration did. T. Adams emphasized that the amount of aid would let the US continue the contribution to the efforts undertaken by the Armenian government first of all in struggle against corruption and poverty reduction. In the State Department representative's words, the administration will demand for $55 million in fiscal year 2004 to implement various regional projects. The US intends to assign part of the means for initiatives aiming at the settlement of regional conflicts, in particular, the Nagorno Karabakh confrontation.