OREANDA-NEWS. On July 23, 2009 the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received the Vice President of the Asian Development Bank Xiaoyu Zhao and his delegation, reported the Official website news.president.am.

The President of Armenia noted with satisfaction growing cooperation with the Asian Development Bank.

President Sargsyan praised rapid response of the Bank and its interest toward a major transportation projects such as the North-South highway and the North-South railroad, as well as transportation development programs for Yerevan.

He also expressed gratitude for the 80mln USD assistance provided by the Bank to the government of Armenia to mitigate the consequences of the global financial and economic crisis and implementation of the envisaged programs.

The Vice President of the ADB, Xiaoyu Zhao said that the Bank is interested in the development of a long-term partnership with Armenia.

Hailing established cooperation between the ADB and the government of Armenia, he said that he had observed the implementation of the joint projects on the reconstruction of rural roads, water supply and drainage systems and was impressed with their progress.

The Vice President also assured that the ADB is ready to continue its assistance to Armenia to overcome the repercussions of the global economic crisis.

Stressing the importance of implementing long-term infrastructure programs, the two sides agreed that they serve as a serious impetus for the development of the country. They also mentioned that implementation of joint programs in the private sector might be promising.

President Sargsyan said that our cooperation with the international financial structures is significant not only from the viewpoint of attracting funds but also for important experience and business culture that they bring along to Armenia.