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ANCA Rapid Responder Letters: Schedule Direct Flights from the U.S. to Armenia

Letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao

I am writing to ask you to lead a public-private partnership to explore the launch of commercially profitable direct U.S. to Armenia passenger and cargo flights.

Armenia is an increasingly in-demand destination for family, tourism, business, healthcare, technology, and education related travel. Yerevan is a growing a financial center, home to a thriving business community with strong ties into Eurasia and across the Middle East. Direct flights would, in addition to saving travelers time and inconvenience, deliver financial benefits to airline carriers and also material advantages to business leaders, commercial enterprises, and investors in both countries.

Your leadership in bringing together airlines and government agencies for this purpose would further strengthen the strong ties between the United States and Armenia, while reinforcing the enduring friendship that has long connected the American and Armenian peoples.

Thank you for your consideration of my request.


Letter to your U.S. Senators and Representative

I wanted to share with you that I recently wrote to ask U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao to lead a public-private partnership to explore the launch of financially profitable direct U.S. to Armenia passenger and cargo flights.

Armenia is an increasingly in-demand destination for family, tourism, business, healthcare, technology, and education related travel. Yerevan is a growing a financial center, home to a thriving business community with strong ties into Eurasia and across the Middle East. Direct flights would, in addition to saving travelers time and inconvenience, deliver financial benefits to airline carriers and also material advantages to commercial enterprises and investors in both countries. I ask you to please encourage the Department of Transportation to work in partnership with airlines and government agencies to make direct U.S. to Armenia flights a reality at the earliest opportunity.

As you may know, in the two years since the 2015 signing of historic U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) we have seen a dramatic growth in U.S. commercial activity in Armenia, including roughly $500,000,000 in new American investments in the energy and mining sectors. We can facilitate further progress by removing barriers to bilateral cooperation, including through a long overdue U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty that will, with only modest effort, eliminate the threat of double taxation of firms operating in both jurisdictions. More fundamentally, we can leverage Armenia’s strong educational system and growing IT capabilities with a new Millennium Challenge Corporation compact focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs in public schools.

Progress in all of these areas: 1) direct flights, 2) a Double Tax Treaty, and 3) an MCC STEM compact will advance U.S. regional and economic interests, creating jobs in both countries, reinforcing Armenian independence in the face of pressure from regional powers, and strengthening America’s enduring friendship with the Armenian people.

I appreciate your attention to my concerns and urge you to support forward-leaning leadership in facilitating direct flights and growing the U.S.-Armenia economic relationship.

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