lic Party [Aram SARKISYAN,
chairman]; Republican Party or RPA [Andranik MARGARYAN]; Rule of Law
Party [Artur BAGHDASARYAN]; Union of Constitutional Rights [Hrant
KHACHATURYAN]; United Labor Party [Gurgen ARSENYAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Yerkrapah Union [Manvel GRIGORIAN]

International organization participation:
ACCT (observer), AsDB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD,
FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM
(observer), OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Tatoul MARKARIAN
chancery: 2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 319-1976
FAX: [1] (202) 319-2982
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Anthony F.
GODFREY
embassy: 1 American Ave., Yerevan 375082
mailing address: American Embassy Yerevan, US Department of State,
7020 Yerevan Place, Washington, DC 20521-7020
telephone: [374](10) 464-700
FAX: [374](10) 464-742

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange

Economy Armenia

Economy - overview:
Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed
a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and
other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw
materials and energy. Since the implosion of the USSR in December
1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the
large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural
sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated
technology. The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace,
but has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration.
Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (copper, gold,
bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the
ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup
of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union
contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. By
1994, however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious
IMF-sponsored economic liberalization program that r