CEREMONY TO OPEN TRADE BETWEEN STATE, ARMENIA.Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer GLENDALE - Gov. Gray Davis will sign a historic agreement today between California and Armenia, paving the way for a trade office to open in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. The fruit of several years of work by Armenian leaders and elected state officials, the Trade and Cultural Exchange Memorandum of Understanding A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a legal document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action and may not imply a legal commitment. formalizes shared interests to expand business opportunities. The agreement is the first of its kind between an American state and the Republic of Armenia, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union this year. ``(Armenia) is obviously a struggling country, but it moved very quickly into free enterprise,'' said state Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena. ``I think (the agreement) would be a step both to exporting of our technological skills from California and the bringing in of some of their imports into our country.'' The momentousness of today's ceremony at the Glendale Hilton is underscored by the roster of invited guests. In addition to the governor and state elected officials, the 1 p.m. ceremony will feature Vartan Oskanian, Armenia's foreign minister, who will sign the agreement on behalf of his country. Other Armenian dignitaries will include Arman Kirakossian, Armenian ambassador to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. ; Movses Abelian A`bel´i`an n. 1. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect in Africa (4th century), mentioned by St. Augustine, who states that they married, but lived in continence, after the manner, as they pretended, of Abel. , Armenian ambassador to the United Nations; and Valery Mkrtoumian, consul general consul general n. pl. consuls general Abbr. CG A consul of the highest rank serving at a principal location and usually responsible for other consular offices within a country. of Armenia in Los Angeles. Peter Abajian, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America Armenian Assembly of America, according to its website [1], aims to "strengthen U.S./Armenia and U.S./Nagorno Karabakh relations, promotes Armenia's and Karabakh's democratic development and economic prosperity and seeks universal affirmation of the Armenian Genocide" via Western Region Office expects the MOU (Minutes Of Usage) A metric used to compute billing and/or statistics for telephone calls or other network use. to open the door to a variety of cultural and business exchanges between Armenia and California - home to 500,000 to 600,000 Armenian-Americans. ``We are looking at this MOU as the jumping-off point for the beginning of our relationship,'' said Abajian, who led a delegation to Armenia in July to advance cultural understanding and trade negotiations. ``This opens the door for the next 50 other things,'' he said. ``Perhaps educational exchanges, perhaps business exchange programs, investment missions back and forth ... the opportunity to lend Western technology and management skills.'' Alex Sardar Sardar, in some senses also Sirdar (Persian: سردار ) (Sardār , executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is an Armenian-American grassroots organization that actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues. Western Region Office envisions Armenia becoming a regional trade hub. ``(A trade office in Yerevan) could serve as a regional gateway for California and California could be a conduit to that region of the world for the rest of the United States.'' Scott is currently working on a bill to establish a trade office in Yerevan. Serge Adamian of Glendale, who helps manage a fuel cell company in Yerevan, already sees the mutual benefits of trade. |
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