AmCham Monthly Newsletter N12, 2018

For a Better Business Environment

American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia December 2018 AmCham is an independent business association operating in Armenia since 2000. AmCham represents the interests of about 130 member companies from almost all sectors of the economy. AmCham’s goal is to enhance US-Armenia business relations and improve business and investment climate in the country. The Chamber is pleased to have both local companies and companies from all over the world among its members.

AmCham Armenia is a member of US Chamber of Commerce and European Council of American Chambers of Commerce.

CONTACT US 1 Amiryan St., Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan, 3rd floor, room 315, 317, Yerevan 0010, RA Email: info@amcham.am / events@amcham.am Tel: (+374 10) 599 902 (+374 10) 599 187

Visit our page: www.amcham.am

PUBLISHED AND DESIGNED BY

AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN ARMENIA

AMCHAM PARTNERED WITH CITY OF SMILE FOUNDATION On 3 December, 2018 “City of Smile Foundation” and Armenia State Dance Ensemble organized a charity concert in the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. AmCham was the Information Partner of the event in the scope of its “Responsible Business Network” (RBN) to support the Foundation in addressing the cause. All proceeds of the concert were donated to "City of Smile" Foundation to help children and young adults who are fighting cancer.

The concert was organized under high patronage of Anna Hakobyan – spouse of the acting Prime Minister as well as the Chairman of the board of the Foundation.

Every year more than 100 children and young adults in Armenia are diagnosed with cancer. Most of the families cannot afford the treatment of their children and are sentenced to financial crisis, and are incapable to provide their children with appropriate medication and cure. Thanks to several AmCham Members for their participation and contribution!

AMCHAM PARTICIPATES AT THE LAUNCH OF “WOMEN ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN SOUTH CAUCASUS” PROJECT Women’s economic empowerment is increasingly considered to be a prerequisite for realizing gender equality, strengthening women’s agency and achieving sustainable development for all. The goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to reduce inequalities and to “leave no one behind”. This will require (a) identifying groups who have been left behind; (b) understanding the causes behind their exclusion; and (c) developing and implementing strategies of inclusiveness.

Towards the stated purpose “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” is initiated by UN Women to ensure that women, particularly the poor and socially excluded, in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are economically empowered and participate in relevant decision-making. The project is foreseen to be implemented simultaneously at three levels: grassroot, institutional and at policy & legislation levels. UNDP Armenia will be implementing the programmatic components in Armenia.

This regional initiative has had its official launch on 10th of December in Tbilisi, Georgia. To ensure experience exchange and possible synergies with the regional initiative, as well as opportunity to engage representatives of the private sector in Armenia into the promotion and adoption of gender equality and women empowerment principles in Armenia (WEPS), UNDP has invited women managers from American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) and its member companies, including Mentor Graphics, McCann Erickson, Armas Wine.

During the regional launch event, heads of donor organizations (Mr. Olivier Buerki, Director, Swiss Cooperation Office South Caucasus and Mr. Gerhard Schaumberger, Head of Office for the South Caucasus, Austrian Development Agency), UN Women Representative in Georgia, as well as the Chair of the Inter-agency commission on issues of gender equality, violence against women, and domestic violence of the Government of Georgia have flagged the outstanding issues on existing gender gaps in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and highlighted the importance of the initiative on economic empowerment in the countries of South Caucasus. The official launch event was followed by the WEPS networking meeting, where the managers of big enterprises and private companies presented their experience and progress with integration of WEPS principles in the companies’ work life.

In Armenia, the project aims to contribute towards (i) inclusion and capacitation of women, particularly the poor and socially excluded ones, to use skills, economic opportunities and relevant information to be self-employed and/or to join the formal labor sector in Armenia and (ii) gender-responsive programmes, public services, strategies and plans for women’s economic empowerment in Armenia developed and delivered by the Government and public institutions.

The official launch of the project in Armenia has taken place on 13 December, 2018 in Double Tree by Hilton hotel, with participation of Mr. Vache Terteryan, First Deputy Minister of RA Territorial Administration and Development, Ms. Mane Tandilyan, newly elected member of Parliament, H.E. Mr. Stefano Lazzarotto, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Armenia, Mr. Shombi Sharp, the UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia, Ms. Erika Kvapilova, Representative of UN Women in Georgia, Mr. Dmitry Mariyasin, UNDP Resident Representative a.i. and Ms. Nora Alanakyan, Deputy Head of Office, Austrian Development Agency Office in Armenia. Representatives of private companies, international organizations, civil society, active youth and subject-matter experts participated in the event.

This event served as a platform to discuss the context, opportunities and challenges for women economic activity in Armenia, as well as to explore possible avenues as a way forward in enhancing and strengthening the role of women in Armenian labor market.

Separate session with active involvement of women entrepreneurs was held by UNDP jointly with GIZ EU-SMEDA project on the same day, where women entrepreneurs presented their success stories, best practices, strategies of engagement of vulnerable women into their activities and vision on further strengthening of women led initiatives in the regions of Armenia.

AmCham Christmas Party!

December 14, 2018

Note of Gratitude to the Sponsors:

Note of gratitude to the sponsors:

“RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS NETWORK” (RBN) YEAR-END PROJECTS

“RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS NETWORK” (RBN) END-YEAR RESULTS AmCham is happy to announce that The students of CIS Armenia hugely its members joined World Vision supported the campaign with finding Armenia’s #SecretSanta campaign! donors and participated in supply Armenia Mariott Hotel Yerevan was chain activities full of learning among the first! The hotel staff not opportunities.

For individual only became Secret Santas for donations please visit children living in remote https://bit.ly/2UKHVYo. communities but also supported the campaign involving hotel guests!

Thanks to one of AmCham Members’ donation to World Vision Armenia, secondary school in Darbas community of Syunik Marz received new furniture. The school has 77 students from Darbas and Getatagh rural communities SOS-Children's Villages’ Armenia received a donation from Enterprise Rent a Car. The New Year’s cards of the Company were nicely made by the children of SOS Children's Villages Kotayk Branch.

AMCHAM ARMENIA PARTICIPATES AT 6th EURASIAN ECONOMIC COMMISSION CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW The American Chamber of Commerce of Russia, in partnership with the U.S.Russia Business Council (USRBC) and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), held the 6th Eurasian Economic Commission conference on December 12, 2018. In his keynote speech Tigran Sargsyan (Chairman of the Board, EEC) spoke about the results of EEC activities in 2018, and presented plans and priorities for the next year. Representatives of the EEC and the Federal Customs Service discussed the future of Eurasian integration, highlighted key areas of their activities, including issues of customs policy, technical regulation, competition policy. The event included presentations from multinational companies on their success stories of operation within the Eurasian market. The panel sessions were co-moderated by AmCham President & CEO Alexis Rodzianko and USRBC President and CEO Daniel Russell.

The following experts spoke during two panel discussions: Karine Minasyan (Member of the Board – Minister in charge of Internal Markets, Information Support, Information & Communication Technologies, EEC), Ruslan Davydov (1st Deputy Head of the Federal Customs Service RF), Marina Iskoskova (Head of Customs Legislation Branch, Department of Customs Legislation and Law Enforcement Practice, EEC), Karen Garaseferyan (Board Member, AmCham Armenia), Zarina Chekirbaeva (Executive Director, AmCham Kyrgizstan), Oksana Plashkova (Deputy Head of Technical Regulation and Accreditation Department, EEC), Dmitry Rozhdestvenskiy (Head of the Department of Coordination of works in the field of circulation of medicines and medical products of the Technical Regulation and Accreditation Department, EEC), Vadim Kukava, Executive Director, Association of Pharmaceutical Companies “Innovative Pharma” (InPharma), Frances Devlin (Director, Regional Public Affairs, Pfizer), and Vladimir Shipkov (Executive Director, Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (AIPM)).

Welcoming New Members!