Armenia Dating

QUESTION: On North Korea. Did you -- can you confirm the -- some news report that North Korea sued 11 American Presidents, dating back to President Truman, about the Korean War and -- ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: USTR Barshefsky March 2 Remarks on U.S. Trade Policy, WTO

China's commitments under the WTO "will alter policies dating to the earliest years of the communist era," she said. "They give China's people more access to information, and weaken the ability of hardliners to isolate China's public from outside influences and ideas." ...

Within China, the WTO accession will support reform. China's commitments will alter policies dating to the earliest years of the communist era. They give China's people more access to information, and weaken the ability of hardliners to isolate China's public from outside influences and ideas. Altogether, they reflect a judgment -- still not universally shared within the Chinese government -- that prosperity, security and international respect will come not from the static nationalism, state power and state control China adopted after the 1949 revolution; but rather the economic opening to the world and ultimately development of the rule of law inherent in the initiative President Truman and his colleagues began a year earlier. ... [Read More]

Europe and Eurasia

The United States actively engaged in promoting democratic elections in Albania. The United States consistently urged the Albanian Government to create the conditions for democratic parliamentary elections in 2005. The United States also provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Local Government and Decentralization, the Central Election Commission and municipal governments in many aspects of election processes, such as voter registration, preparation of accurate voter lists, spatial mapping of polling districts and updating civil registries. Officials from the U.S. Government coordinated election assistance with other donors, including the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, and many bilateral and multilateral donor organizations. The United States established framework agreements for the deployment of a large-scale, domestic election monitoring effort for the 2005 parliamentary elections. Officials from the U.S. Government encouraged political party leaders and ... [Read More]

Europe and Central Asia

Agreements and Treaties. Italy is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1972 Protocol and the 1988 UN Drug Convention. In December 2000, an international conference was held in Palermo, Italy, for the signing of treaty on transnational crime. The treaty must be ratified by a quorum of 40 countries before it comes into force. This new treaty will strengthen governments against serious crimes, including drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking of human beings and arms trafficking. As a member of the European Union, Italy participates in the Dublin Group, UNDCP Pompidou group, Europol, the EU Commission, and attendant committees and working groups.Cultivation/Production. There is no known coca bush cultivation in Italy. However, opium poppy grows spontaneously in the southern part of Italy and the island of Sicily. It does not present a threat due to the low alkaloid content. [Read More]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports

INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, APRIL 1993US DEPARTMENT OF STATEBUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS MATTERSDEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 10047RELEASED APRIL 1993The Report is for sale by the Government Printing Office, Superindendent of Documents. Stock No.: 044-000-02370-9THIS SEGMENT OF THE INCSR REPRESENTS INDIVIDUAL REPORTS FOR THE EUROPEAN NATIONSEUROPE Albania Austria The Baltics Estonia Latvia Lithuania Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech and Slovak Federal Republics Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Luxembourg Malta Moldova The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Yugoslavia Central Asian States Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Turkmenistan Tajikistan Uzbekistan Transcaucasia Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia[EDITOR'S NOTE: Charts referenced to in brackets [ ] are available only in hard copy of r ... [Read More]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports

US DEPARTMENT OF STATEBUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS MATTERSINTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRAGEGY REPORTAPRIL 1994EUROPE 303 Albania 305 Austria 307 The Baltics 309 Estonia 309 Latvia 310 Lithuania 311 Belgium 313 Bulgaria 315 Cyprus 319 Czech Republic 322 Denmark 325 Finland 327 France 329 Germany 332 Greece 335 Hungary 338 Iceland ... [Read More]

Consular Information Sheets

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Consular Information Sheets

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |   ... [Read More]

Armenia

According to unofficial statistics the country has a total population of approximately 2 million persons (official estimates dating back 10 years were 3.4 million). The transition from a centralized, controlled economy to a market economy continued to move forward, although the industrial sector did not function at peak capacity and its output remained low. Unemployment remained high, and there is a high degree of income inequality, but reliable figures were not available; unemployment was approximately 10 percent according to the Government; however, other sources estimated the unemployment rate to be approximately 40 percent. Women account for approximately 60 percent of the unemployed. A significant amount of economic activity, unofficially estimates between 40 and 60 percent, is not captured by government accounting or taxation. The per capita gross domestic product (GDP) increased approximately 9 percent, to approximately $550 (308,000 drams). Inflation was 2.9 percent for the yea ... [Read More]