YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, NOYAN TAPAN. The economic cooperation of Armenia and Austria is promising especially in the banking sector, the Armenian ambassador to Austria Ashot Hovakimian stated at the October 2 press conference. He noted that in particular, Reiffeizzen Bank has some great plans related to Central Asian countries, including Armenia. "It is important to us that this bank will open its branch in Armenia," the ambassador said. According to him, another promising field of cooperation between the two countries is tourism. In the opinion of A. Hovakimian, Armenia may study Austria's experience of tourism development. "Tourism is a sector where Austrians can assist and make investments," he noted. The ambassador underlined that the number of Austrian tourists to Armenia is growing year by year. The Armenian ambassador to Bulgaria Sergei Manasarian pointed out creation of joint ventures as the most efficient form of Armenian-Bulgarian cooperation. He said that Armenian brandy is sold in the Bulgarian market for the first time in the past ten years, with two brandy manufacturers - Noy company and the Yerevan Brandy, Wine and Vodka Plant operating in the Bulgarian market. In his words, Bulgaria is not a country to be introduced to Armenian brandy. "Every Bulgarian knows very well what Armenia is. Works on Armenia and Armenians are included even in the curricula of secondary schools," he noted.

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