We are particularly proud to announce that on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Armenian dram, the Central Bank of Armenia, the Union of Banks of Armenia, , and all 18 commercial banks, in cooperation with My Forest Armenia, established 50 ha of new forests in the communities of Jrashen and Urasar in Lori Province, planting 160,000 trees of various species (oak, maple, beech, linden, wild pear, wild apple, walnut, birch, and others). The forests created as a permanent and future-oriented asset will symbolize the permanence of the national currency.

Creating Lasting Values

At the end of 2022, Gevorg Machanyan, the chairman of the management board and executive director of  ArmSwissBank, , suggested this idea to all his colleagues, and it was accepted unanimously. 20 hectares of newly created forest will be in Jrashen 2, and another 30 hectares in Urasar. Upon the end of the community land use period, the land and the forest ecosystem will be returned to the community. This event is one of the best examples of the banking system’s appreciation of the unique role of creating lasting values, social responsibility, and nature conservation.

On April 29, under the leadership of Martin Galstyan, the Governor of Central Bank, Mher Ananyan, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Banks of Armenia, Seyran Sargsyan, Executive Director of the Union of Banks of Armenia, various bank directors, Aram Khachatryan, Governor of Lori Region and Andre Gumuchdjian, took part in the forest establishment celebration events. Mr Galstyan and Ananyan did the unveiling of the sign board. A tree planting event took place with the enthusiastic participation of all guests in the afforestation area of Jrashen 2.

Memorandum of Cooperation

After the tree planting, the guests went to our “Benjamin Gumuchdjian” nursery in Gugark. After a short tour of the seedling plots where plants have recently started to sprout, Martin Galstyan, Mher Ananyan, and Andre Gumuchdjian signed a memorandum of cooperation.

“With this event, we are starting the series of events dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Armenian dram, which will take place in 2023. It is very symbolic that the first event is tree planting. The Central Bank attaches great importance to supporting the environmental challenges our country is facing. Within the framework of social responsibility, we, together with commercial banks and My Forest Armenia, are glad to contribute to the improvement of the environment. At the same time, we are committed to the “green” agenda and, as much as possible, we incorporate it into our daily activities and even our approaches to financial regulation,” said Martin Galstyan.

“Programs aimed at the environment are no less important for us. For years, especially during the last 50 years, man has continuously damaged nature. It is time to realize that we are a part of nature and by preserving nature, we preserve ourselves. Therefore, standing next to the 50-hectare forest establishment initiative is our modest effort to preserve nature,” said Mher Ananyan, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Banks of Armenia.

“Among the events dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the dram, the establishment of a new forest and tree planting will perhaps be one of the most memorable initiatives that united the Central Bank and all commercial banks today. ” said Seyran Sargsyan, executive director of the Union of Armenian Banks.

“This cooperation is a great honor and of great importance to us. We are happy that more and more people are realizing the vital importance of forests. After all, we all need oxygen and drinking water, and forests do much more than that: , they stop desertification, prevent soil erosion, preserve biodiversity, reduce temperature and help in the fight against climate change,” said Andre Gumuchdjian.

We again want to thank the Central Bank of Armenia, and all the commercial banks of Armenia for their participation as well as their vision. We also give a specially warm thank you to Mr Guevorg Machanyan who has been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition.