TSAKHKADZOR, FEBRUARY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. "The time for regional cooperation has come, and it is necessary to cooperate more actively with those markets, with which Armenia had traditional links," the chairman of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia Arsen Ghazarian stated during the "Kamurj 2009" international economic forum held in Tsakhkadzor on February 21-23. Besides, according to him, more active cooperation should be established with the countries with large and influential Armenian communities. "The government's economic assistance program attaches special importance to support for export-oriented enterprises. These steps and the financial problems of big "players" in the international market may enable us to make our export-related potential more flexible if we organize the export process more correctly and manufacture more competitive production, if we do not become desperate and manage to enter foreign markets confidently," he said. A. Ghazarian pointed out agricultural produce processing, production of mineral waters, cans, brandy and wines as the traditional exporting branches. He expressed a hope that after a decline because of the global economic crisis, the mining industry will recover in a few months if international prices normalize a bit.

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