Armenia
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Armenia
Geography
Area: 29,800 sq. km. (11,500 sq. mi.); slightly larger than Maryland.
Cities: Capital--Yerevan.
Terrain: High plateau with mountains, little forest land.
Climate: Highland continental, hot summers, cold winters.
People
Nationality: Noun--Armenian(s). Adjective--Armenian.
Population (official est.): 3,213,011 de jure ( 3,002,594 de facto).
These figures represent the final results of the October 2001
census, as announced in January 2003.
Ethnic groups: Armenian 98%; Yezidi 1.2%; Russian, Greek, and
other 0.8%.
Religion: Armenian Apostolic Church (more than 90% nominally affiliated).
Languages: Armenian (96%), Russian, other.
Education: Literacy--99%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--20/1,000. Life expectancy--66.6
years.
Work force (1.24 million -- 10.5% unemployed): Industry and construction--24.5%;
agriculture and forestry--24.6%; trade--17.3%; education--13.4%;
other--22.2%.
Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: Approved in November 2005 referendum.
Independence: 1918 (First Armenian Republic); 1991 (from Soviet
Union).
Branches: Executive--president (head of state) with wider powers
relative to other branches, prime minister (head of cabinet),
Council of Ministers (cabinet). Legislative--unicameral National
Assembly (parliament). Judicial--Constitutional Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 10 marzes (provinces) in addition
to the city of Yerevan, which has the status of a province.
Political parties represented in the National Assembly: Republican
Party of Armenia, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutyun,
Country of Law (Orinats Yerkir), People's Party of Armenia, National
Accord Party, Republic Party, and United Labor Party. Other significant
parties include: National Democratic Union, Constitutional Rights
Union, Social Democratic Hnchakian Party, Armenian National Movement,
Liberal Democratic Ramkavar Party, Self Determination Union, Communist
Party, and the Christian Democratic Party. In addition, there
are dozens of other registered parties, many of which become active
only during national campaigns.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
Economy (2005)
GDP: $4.867 billion.
GDP growth rate: 13.9%.
Per capita GDP: $1,514.
Inflation: 0.06%.
Natural resources: Copper, zinc, gold, and lead; hydroelectric
power; small amounts of gas and petroleum.
Agriculture: Products--fruits and vegetables, wines, dairy, some
livestock.
Industry: Types--chemicals, electronic products, machinery, processed
food, synthetic rubber, and textiles.
Trade: Exports--$950.4 million: diamonds, scrap metal, machinery
and equipment, brandy, copper ore. Export partners (2004)--Belgium
18%, Israel 15.3%, Russia 12.5%, U.S. 8.1%, Netherlands 7.2%,
Iran 5.5%, Georgia 4.3%. Imports (2004)--$1.767.9 billion: natural
gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, and diamonds. Import
partners--Russia 11.3%, Belgium 10.1%, Israel 8.4%, Iran 7.1%,
U.S. 7.6%.
PEOPLE AND HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
Ethnic groups in Armenia include Armenians (95%), Kurds, Russians,
Greeks, and others. More than 90% of the population is nominally
affiliated with the Armenian Apostolic Church. Languages are Armenian
(96%), Russian, and others.
Armenia first emerged into history around 800 BC
as part of the Kingdom of Urartu or Van, which flourished in the
Caucasus and eastern Asia Minor until 600 BC. After the destruction
of the Seleucid Empire, the first Armenian state was founded in
190 BC. At its zenith, from 95 to 65 BC, Armenia extended its
rule over the entire Caucasus and the area that is now eastern
Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. For a time, Armenia was the strongest
state in the Roman East. It became part of the Roman Empire in
64 BC and adopted a Western political, philosophical, and religious
orientation.
In 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation to adopt
Christianity as a state religion, establishing a church that still
exists independently of both the Roman Catholic and the Eastern
Orthodox churches. During its later political eclipses, Armenia
depended on the church to preserve and protect its unique identity.
From around 1100 to 1350, the focus of Armenian nationalism moved
south, as the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which had close ties
to European Crusader states, flourished in southeastern Asia Minor
until conquered by Muslim states.
Between the 4th and 19th centuries, Armenia was
conquered and ruled by, among others, Persians, Byzantines, Arabs,
Mongols, and Turks. For a brief period from 1918 to 1920, it was
an independent republic. In late 1920, the communists came to
power following an invasion of Armenia by the Red Army, and in
1922, Armenia became part of the Trans-Caucasian Soviet Socialist
Republic. In 1936, it became the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Armenia declared its independence from the Soviet Union on September
21, 1991.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Armenians voted overwhelmingly for independence in a September
1991 referendum, followed by a presidential election in October
1991 that gave 83% of the vote to Levon Ter-Petrossian. Ter-Petrossian
had been elected head of government in 1990, when the Armenian
National Movement defeated the Communist Party. Ter-Petrossian
was re-elected in 1996. Following public demonstrations against
Ter-Petrossian's policies on Nagorno-Karabakh, the President resigned
in January 1998 and was replaced by Prime Minister Robert Kocharian,
who was elected President in March 1998. Following the October
27, 1999 assassination in Parliament of Prime Minister Vazgen
Sargsian, Parliament Speaker Karen Demirchian, and six other officials,
a period of political instability ensued during which an opposition
headed by elements of the former Armenian National Movement government
attempted unsuccessfully to force Kocharian to resign. Kocharian
was successful in riding out the unrest. Kocharian was reelected
in March 2003 in a contentious election that the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the U.S. Government
deemed to fall short of international standards.
As a result of the May 2003 parliamentary elections,
95 seats of the 131 in the National Assembly (75 elected on a
proportional basis and 56 on a district-by-district majoritarian
basis) went to generally pro-government parties or deputies. The
Republican Party, ARF Dashnaksutyun Party, and Orinats Yerkir
formed a coalition government. However, Orinats Yerkir pulled
out of the loose governing coalition in May 2006, leaving a coalition
consisting of the Republican and the ARF Dashnaksutyun parties,
plus several unaffiliated deputies who vote with the government
bloc. The former Speaker of the National Assembly, Artur Baghdassaryan
(Orinats Yerkir), resigned his position on May 22, 2006. On June
1, 2006, the National Assembly elected Tigran Torosian to succeed
Baghdassarvan. Opposition parties secured 26 seats during the
2003 election. There are philosophical tensions within the opposition,
but these parties tend to vote together on key legislative issues.
The opposition includes both the Justice Bloc (organized by the
People's Party of Armenia Chairman Stepan Demirchian) and the
rival National Accord Party (headed by Artashes Geghamian).
The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build
a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form
of government. However, international observers have questioned
the inherent fairness of parliamentary and presidential elections
during each of the previous nationwide elections (1995, 1999,
and 2003) as well as during the 2005 constitutional referendum,
citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the electoral
commission, poor maintenance of electoral lists, and access to
polling places. The new constitution in 2005 increased the power
of the legislative branch and allows for more independence of
the judiciary; the executive branch nevertheless retains more
power than most European countries.
The Government's human rights record remained poor
in 2005; while there were some improvements in a few areas, serious
problems remained. International and domestic observers noted
the constitutional referendum was well below international standards,
with serious irregularities. Serious irregularities also occurred
during previous presidential and parliamentary elections. Security
forces beat pretrial detainees. Impunity remained a problem. There
were reports of arbitrary arrest and detention. Lengthy pretrial
detention remained a problem. There were some limits on press
freedom, due in part to self-censorship and denial of television
broadcast licenses. The law places some restrictions on religious
freedom. Societal violence against women was a problem. Trafficking
of women and children was a problem, which the government took
some steps to address.
Principal Government Officials
President--Robert Kocharian
Prime Minister--Andranik Margaryan
Foreign Minister--Vartan Oskanian
Defense Minister--Serge Sargsian
Ambassador to the U.S.--Tatoul Markarian
Ambassador to the UN--Armen Martirossian
Armenia's embassy in the U.S. is at 2225 R Street,
NW, Washington, DC, 20008; tel: 202-319-1976; fax: 202-319-2984.
ECONOMY
Armenia is the second most densely populated of the former Soviet
republics. It is a landlocked country between the Black and the
Caspian Seas, bordered on the north by Georgia, to the east by
Azerbaijan, on the south by Iran, and to the west by Turkey. Up
until independence, Armenia's economy was based largely on industry--chemicals,
electronic products, machinery, processed food, synthetic rubber,
and textiles--and highly dependent on outside resources. Agriculture
accounted for only 20% of net material product and 10% of employment
before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Armenian mines
produce copper, zinc, gold, and lead. The vast majority of energy
is produced with imported fuel, including gas and nuclear fuel
(for its one nuclear power plant) from Russia; the main domestic
energy source is hydroelectric. Small amounts of coal, gas, and
petroleum have not yet been developed.
Like other New Independent States of the former
Soviet Union, Armenia's economy suffers from the legacy of a centrally
planned economy and the breakdown of former Soviet trading patterns.
Soviet investment in and support of Armenian industry has virtually
disappeared, so that few major enterprises are still able to function.
In addition, the effects of the 1988 earthquake, which killed
more than 25,000 people and made 500,000 homeless, are still being
felt. Although a cease-fire has held since 1994, the conflict
with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved. The
consequent closure of both the Azerbaijani and Turkish borders
has devastated the economy, because of Armenia's dependence on
outside supplies of energy and most raw materials. Land routes
through Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed; routes through Georgia
and Iran are inadequate or unreliable. In 1992-93, GDP fell nearly
60% from its 1989 level. The national currency, the dram, suffered
hyperinflation for the first few years after its introduction
in 1993.
Nevertheless, the Government of Armenia, helped
by the cease-fire that has been in effect in Nagorno-Karabakh
since 1994, has been able to carry out wide-ranging economic reforms
that paid off in dramatically lower inflation and steady growth.
Armenia has registered strong economic growth since 1995, building
on the turnaround that began the previous year, and inflation
has been negligible for the past several years. New sectors, such
as precious stone processing and jewelry making, information and
communication technology, and even tourism are beginning to supplement
more traditional sectors such as agriculture in the economy.
This steady economic progress has earned Armenia
increasing support from international institutions. The International
Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD), as well as other international financial
institutions (IFIs) and foreign countries are extending considerable
grants and loans. Total loans extended to Armenia since 1993 exceed
$1.1 billion. These loans are targeted at reducing the budget
deficit, stabilizing the local currency; developing private businesses;
energy; the agriculture, food processing, transportation, and
health and education sectors; and ongoing rehabilitation work
in the earthquake zone.
Continued progress will depend on the ability of
the government to strengthen its macroeconomic management, including
increasing revenue collection, improving the investment climate,
and making strides against corruption. A liberal foreign investment
law was approved in June 1994, and a Law on Privatization was
adopted in 1997, as well as a program on state property privatization.
The government joined the World Trade Organization on February
5, 2003.
Environmental Issues
Armenia is trying to address its environmental problems. It has
established a Ministry of Nature Protection and has introduced
a pollution fee system by which taxes are levied on air and water
emissions and solid waste disposal, with the resulting revenues
used for environmental protection activities. Armenia is interested
in cooperating with other members of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS--a group of 12 former Soviet republics) and with members
of the international community on environmental issues. The Armenian
Government has committed to decommissioning the Armenian Nuclear
Power Plant as soon as alternate energy sources can be identified.
DEFENSE AND MILITARY ISSUES
Armenia established a Ministry of Defense in 1992. Border guards
subject to the National Security Service patrol Armenia's borders
with Georgia and Azerbaijan, while Russian Border Guards continue
to monitor its borders with Iran and Turkey.
The Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty
was ratified by the Armenian parliament in July 1992. The treaty
establishes comprehensive limits on key categories of military
equipment, such as tanks, artillery, armored combat vehicles,
combat aircraft, and combat helicopters, and provides for the
destruction of weaponry in excess of those limits. Armenian officials
have consistently expressed determination to comply with its provisions.
Armenia has provided data on armaments as required under the CFE
Treaty. There are indications that Armenia is trying to establish
mechanisms to ensure fulfillment of its arms control obligations.
Armenia is not a significant exporter of conventional weapons,
but it has provided substantial support, including materiel, to
separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In March 1993, Armenia signed the multilateral Chemical
Weapons Convention, which calls for the eventual elimination of
chemical weapons. Armenia acceded to the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state in July 1993. The U.S. and
other Western governments have discussed efforts to establish
effective nuclear export control systems with Armenia.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Armenia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe,
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
the Commonwealth of Independent States, NATO's Partnership for
Peace, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the International
Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development,
and the World Trade Organization.
Nagorno-Karabakh
In 1988, the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly ethnic
Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, voted to secede and join Armenia.
This eventually developed into a full-scale armed conflict. Armenian
support for the separatists led to an economic embargo by Azerbaijan,
which has had a negative impact on Armenia's foreign trade and
made imports of food and fuel more expensive, three-quarters of
which previously transited Azerbaijan under Soviet rule.
Peace talks in early 1993 were disrupted by the
seizure of Azerbaijan's Kelbajar district by Nagorno-Karabakh
Armenian forces and the forced evacuation of thousands of ethnic
Azeris. Turkey in protest then followed with an embargo of its
own against Armenia. A cease-fire was declared between Azeri and
Armenian/Nagorno-Karabakh forces in 1994 and has been maintained
by both sides since then in spite of occasional shooting along
the line of contact. All Armenian governments have thus far resisted
domestic pressure to recognize the self-proclaimed independence
of the "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic," while at the same
time announcing they would not accept any peace accords that returned
the enclave to Azerbaijani rule. Approximately 526,000 of the
estimated 800,000 ethnic Azeris who fled during the Karabakhi
offensives still live as internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan,
while roughly 235,000 of 360,000 ethnic Armenians who fled Azerbaijan
since 1988 remain refugees.
Negotiations to peacefully resolve the conflict
have been ongoing since 1992 under the aegis of the Minsk Group
of the OSCE. The Minsk Group is currently co-chaired by the U.S.,
France, and Russia. Negotiations have intensified since 2004.
According to Armenia's Office of the Geographer,
Karabakhi Armenians, supported by the Republic of Armenia, now
hold about 11% of Azerbaijan and have refused to withdraw from
occupied territories until an agreement on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh
is reached. Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to observe the cease-fire
that has been in effect since May 1994, and in late 1995 both
also agreed to OSCE field representatives being based in Tbilisi,
Georgia, to monitor the cease-fire and facilitate the peace process.
U.S.-ARMENIAN RELATIONS
The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 brought an
end to the Cold War and created the opportunity to build bilateral
relations with the New Independent States (NIS) as they began
a political and economic transformation. The U.S. recognized the
independence of Armenia on December 25, 1991, and opened an Embassy
in Yerevan in February 1992.
The United States has made a concerted effort to
help Armenia and the other NIS during their difficult transition
from totalitarianism and a command economy to democracy and open
markets. The cornerstone of this continuing partnership has been
the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open
Markets (FREEDOM) Support Act, enacted in October 1992. Under
this and other programs, the U.S. to date has provided nearly
$1.5 billion in humanitarian and technical assistance for Armenia.
U.S. assistance programs in Armenia are described in depth on
Embassy Yerevan’s website at: http://yerevan.usembassy.gov/assistance/.
On March 27, 2006 Armenia signed a Millennium Challenge
Compact with the United States. The agreement will provide $235
million to Armenia over five years to reduce rural poverty through
the improvement of rural roads and irrigation networks. The Government
of Armenia has yet to ratify this agreement.
U.S.-Armenian Economic Relations
In 1992 Armenia signed three agreements with the U.S. affecting
trade between the two countries. The agreements were ratified
by the Armenian parliament in September 1995 and entered into
force in the beginning of 1996. They include an "Agreement
on Trade Relations," an "Investment Incentive Agreement,"
and a treaty on the "Reciprocal Encouragement and Protection
of Investment" (generally referred to as the Bilateral Investment
Treaty, or BIT). Armenia does not have a bilateral taxation treaty
with the U.S. The 1994 Law on Foreign Investment governs all direct
investments in Armenia, including those from the U.S.
Approximately 70 U.S.-owned firms currently do business
in Armenia, including such multinationals as Procter & Gamble,
M&M-Mars, Xerox, Dell, Microsoft, and IBM. Recent major U.S.
investment projects include the Hotel Armenia; the Hotel Ani Plaza;
Tufenkian Holdings (carpet and furnishing production, hotels,
and construction); several subsidiaries of U.S.-based information
technology firms, including Viasphere Technopark, an IT incubator;
a Greek-owned Coca-Cola bottling plant; petroleum exploration
by the American-Armenian Exploration Company; jewelry and textile
production facilities; a large perlite mining and processing plant;
and Jermuk Mother Plant, which produces one of the more popular
brands of mineral water in Armenia.
U.S. Support To Build A Market Economy
The U.S. continues to work closely with international financial
institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank to help Armenia in its transition to a free-market economy.
Armenia has embarked upon an ambitious reform program, which has
allowed a gradual transition from humanitarian aid toward more
developmental assistance. U.S. economic assistance programs, primarily
under the administration of the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID), have three objectives: to help create a legal,
regulatory, and policy framework for competition and economic
growth in energy, agriculture, housing, and other sectors; to
promote fiscal reform; and to develop a competitive and efficient
private financial sector. Other agencies, including the Departments
of State, Agriculture, Treasury, Defense, Commerce, Energy, Justice,
and the Peace Corps sponsor various assistance projects. The U.S.-Armenia
Task Force, established in 2000, is a bilateral commission that
meets every 6 months to review the progress and objectives of
U.S. assistance to Armenia.
Specific USAID programs focus on the development
of a private sector and small and medium-size enterprises, including
microcredit programs; energy sector reform, focusing on efficient
management of Armenia's physical resources; democracy and good
governance programs, including the promotion of a well-informed
and active civil society; social sector reform, including benefits
administration for vulnerable populations and targeted vocational
training; health sector reform, including improvement of management
and delivery of primary healthcare services with an emphasis on
preventive medicine; and earthquake zone assistance, which provides
housing and economic reactivation for victims of the 1988 earthquake.
Under this program, more than 4,000 families who lost their homes
have participated in a housing certificate program allowing them
to secure permanent and adequate housing.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Caucasus
Agricultural Development Initiative provides targeted and sustained
technical, financial and marketing assistance to small and medium-sized
agribusinesses and farmer-marketing associations. The U.S. Department
of Agriculture's Cochran Fellowship Program provides training
to Armenian agriculturists. USDA and USAID also have launched
efforts to revive production and export of Armenian vegetables,
fruits, and other agricultural products.
U.S. Humanitarian Assistance
Over the past decade the U.S. has provided over $1.5 billion in
assistance to Armenia, the highest per capita amount in the NIS.
Humanitarian aid originally accounted for up to 85% of this total,
reflecting the economic effects caused by closed borders with
Turkey and Azerbaijan related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
destruction in northern Armenia left from the devastating 1988
earthquake, and the virtual paralysis of most of the country's
factories.
As conditions in Armenia have improved, with the
stabilization of the economy and increased energy production--including
the restarting of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant at Metsamor--U.S.
assistance programs have moved away from humanitarian goals to
longer-term development ones.
U.S. Support To Achieve Democracy
Technical assistance and training programs have been provided
in municipal administration, intergovernmental relations, public
affairs, foreign policy, diplomatic training, rule of law, and
development of a constitution. Specific programs are targeted
at promoting elections that meet international standards, strengthening
political parties, and promoting the establishment of an independent
judiciary and independent media. This includes financing for programs
that support civil society organizations, local non-governmental
organizations (NGO) capacity building, National Assembly professional
development, and local and community-level governance.
State Department and USAID educational exchange
programs play an important role in supporting democratic and free-market
reforms. Assistance in the translation and publication of printed
information also has been provided. Exchange programs in the U.S.
for Armenian lawyers, judges, political party members, business
people, government officials, NGO activists, journalists, and
other public figures focus on a range of topics, including the
American judicial and political system, privatization, specific
business sectors, the media, and civil society. The State Department
has funded an ongoing project to provide Internet connectivity
to schools at various levels throughout the country; these centers
provide both educational and community-building opportunities.
USAID has funded international and domestic groups
to monitor national elections. USAID also has funded programs
to educate voters and to strengthen the role of an array of civic
organizations in the democratic process.
[Also see fact sheet on FY 2006 U.S. Assistance
to Armenia.]
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--John Marshall Evans
Deputy Chief of Mission--Anthony Godfrey
Political/Economic Chief--Cynthia Doell
Assistance Coordinator--vacant
Consular Officer--Mary Stickles
Management Officer--Lawrence Hess
Regional Security Officer--Peter Ford
USDA Marketing Assistance Project Director--Jeffrey Engels
USAID Director--Robin Phillips
Public Affairs Officer--Kim Hargan
The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia is at 1 American
Avenue; tel: 374-10-46-47-00; fax: 374-10-46-47-42.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides
Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements.
Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include
information on entry requirements, currency regulations, health
conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political
disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country.
Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends
that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Public Announcements
are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about
terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas
that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers.
Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau
of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system:
202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings
also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page:
http://travel.state.gov. Consular Affairs Tips for Travelers publication
series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning
a safe trip abroad, are on the Internet and hard copies can be
purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling
abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services
at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays,
call 202-647-4000.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC)
is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact
center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT
(1-877-487-2778). Customer service representatives and operators
for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.,
Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information
with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta,
Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site
at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the most recent health
advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and
advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries.
A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel
(HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.
Information on travel conditions, visa requirements,
currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items
of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure
from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this
country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing
in this publication).
U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling
in dangerous areas are encouraged to register their travel via
the State Department’s travel registration web site at https://travelregistration.state.gov
or at the Consular section of the U.S. embassy upon arrival in
a country by filling out a short form and sending in a copy of
their passports. This may help family members contact you in case
of an emergency.
Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov,
the Department of State web site provides timely, global access
to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background
Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key
officers of Foreign Service posts and more.
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related
assistance and market information offered by the federal government
and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the
export process, and more.
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department
of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international
trade information from the Federal government. The site includes
current and historical trade-related releases, international market
research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides
access to the National Trade Data Bank.
