YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Discussion of the program on poverty reduction in 50 border villages of the RA took place on September 18 at the Armenia-Diaspora third conference. As RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian mentioned it's envisaged to start implementation of the poverty reduction program in rural communities of the republic from "border villages as they are of strategic, defensive importance." In the Minister's words, the circumstance that the biggest per cent of emigration is fixed just in border villages was also take into account. The program envisages to restore decomposed infrastructures: roads, drinking and irrigating water nets, communication, gas and electricity supply as well as to do reconstruction and furnishing works of schools, to provide emergency rooms with equipment, to open new emergency rooms. V.Oskanian stated that there are already about 30 sponsors for implementation of the program. It was mentioned that it's envisaged to have a worked out working program for every village in February, 2007, and the works themselves will start from March. Prime Minister Andranik Margarian mentioned in his speech that in spite of the high economic growth fixed in Armenia during the last years, uneven allocation of profits got from them among the population and different regions of the republic remains worrying. "The economic growth has mostly had positive influence on the capital, and the reality is that poverty still makes 41% among the rural population," A.Margarian said. Minister of Agriculture Davit Lokian stated that the Ministry worked out a strategic program on development of agriculture in which improvement of agrotechnics in villages, introduction of new technologies and stimulating of alternative activity are attached primary importance. Owing to the latter, in the Minister's words, stimulation of small and meddium-sized entrepreneurial activity will become possible in rural communities what will, in its turn, assist easier sale of agricultural production.

---