ArmInfo.On May 4, the Government of Armenia approved the draft Law of the Republic of Armenia "On the Ratification of the Agreement on the Establishment of Local Branches of the German Society for International Cooperation LLC (GIZ) and the Bank for Reconstruction Credits (KFW).
The planned opening of permanent offices of GIZ and KfW in Armenia was announced in the summer of 2022 during a joint press conference of Vahan Kerobyan and Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation of Germany, Svenja Schulze. Negotiations on opening representative offices in Armenia lasted 12 years.
On March 2 this year, the press service of the Ministry of Economy reported that the agreement on the exchange of notes on opening offices in Armenia was signed by Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan from the Armenian side, and German Ambassador to Armenia Viktor Richter from the German side.
According to Kerobyan, this agreement opens a new page in relations between Armenia and Germany. He emphasized that the offices will, in fact, have the status of diplomatic representations , he said. As the minister pointed out GIZ and KfW are the most active institutions operating in Armenia. In particular, he noted that the Bank is the largest creditor in the country, implementing numerous projects in the field of infrastructure development, energy, construction of reservoirs, etc. In this regard, Kerobyan recalled 2 major projects funded by KfW for the construction of the Kaps Reservoir and power lines from Armenia to Georgia. "We hope that these projects will soon enter the workflow," the head of the state department said. In turn, German Ambassador to Armenia added that over 25 years of cooperation with Armenia, the Bank has provided loans in the amount of 1.2 billion euros, which were used to implement programs in the field of water supply, energy, biodiversity, etc