by Dr. Armen Darbinian

To my opinion, this seminar on civil service reforms is extremely important in light of the future development of our state and society, development of new priorities and determination of our next steps. I would therefore like to hail the WB's present initiative and I hope that, as a result of our discussions, we will be able to develop a coordinated approach to the problem of civil service reforms and focus on the priorities proposed by the WB, other international organizations and donors.

by Emil Danielyan

The forthcoming visit to Armenia by NATO Secretary-General George Robertson is an opportunity to ascertain the Alliance's aims and interests in this region. Nine years after becoming independent, the three republics of the South Caucasus are faced with an insecure and at times harsh geopolitical reality. The existing regional order, if there is any, leaves them vulnerable to external pressure, creating a deep sense of insecurity. For Georgia and Azerbaijan, the main threat is posed by Russia, which they say continues to regard the area as a zone of its exclusive influence. Armenia's security concerns are primarily related to Turkey and Azerbaijan, while Russia is in no way seen as a threat to its independence...

by Hayk Simonian

In spring 2000 the Center for European Political Studies introduced the Caucasus stability pact project, which was presented as to the South Caucasus leaders, international organizations (e.g., OSCE) and different conferences, as well as to a wider public discussions, as it was placed in the Center's web-cite. www.ceps.be

by Vartan Marashlian

Armenia has had very low inflation (decreasing year after year) for almost 4 years, stable domestic currency, average level of budget deficit and GDP growth. This is considered proof that reforms are going in the right direction and financial stability has been achieved, an efficient market economy has been created and all preconditions for strong economic growth and investment flow to Armenia have been established. But what we see now in reality is strong economic stagnation, very low levels of investment activity, acute social problems and problems of poverty, which go contrary to what one of the major official macroeconomic indicators show - permanent GDP growth from year to year.