Iran FM to discuss coop'n with Armenia in Yerevan Tue.

YEREVAN, January 26 (Itar-Tass) - Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Manouchehr Mottaki arrives here on Tuesday to attend the 9th session of
the Intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation between Armenia
and Iran.
The Minister is to meet with Armenian President Serge Sargsyan, Prime
Minister Tigran Sarkisyan, and Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan.
An annual report made public here on Monday by Armenia's Foreign
Ministry, said, "Items on the bilateral economic cooperation agenda
concern projects to build a railway to link the two countries, a third
high-voltage power transmission line between Armenia and Iran, and two
joint hydropower stations on the border river Aras, including the
construction of a liquid fuel storage facility in Armenia's territory".

.ALBA countries allocate $120 million in aid to Haiti.

CARACAS, January 26 (Itar-Tass) - The Bolivarian Alliance for the
Peoples of Our America (ALBA) politico-economic bloc, at a special meeting
in the Venezuelan capital on Monday, adopted a plan aimed at giving aid to
Haiti in the elimination of the aftermath of the devastating earthquake
and in the restoration of that Caribbean country.
In urgent aid to the medical sector, the ALBA member-countries --
Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and the Caribbean island
countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the
Commonwealth of Dominica -- assigned $20 million.
A decision was taken to set up an ALBA special fund for Haiti with an
initial capital of $100 million. ALBA medium- and long-term plans envision
participation in the reconstruction of that Caribbean country, the
development of agrarian, industrial and other sectors of the economy, as
well as the systems of health care and education.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also announced the elimination of
Haiti's debt for the supply of oil and oil products. "Haiti has no debt to
Venezuela (any longer). On the contrary, it is Venezuela that is
historically indebted to that nation," Chavez told a meeting of the ALBA
Political Council.
Chavez said Venezuela would fully meet Haiti's requirements for fuel
that would be distributed free of charge among the population that needs
it. Fuel will be also supplied to thermal power stations and medical motor
transport, the Venezuelan President pointed out.

.CGS of 63 countries gather in Brussels for consultations.

BRUSSELS, January 26 (Itar-Tass) - The Chiefs of the General Staff
(CGS) of 63 countries gather in the Belgian capital for two-day
consultations that begin on Tuesday within the scope of an annual session
of the NATO Military Committee.
Apart from Military Committee members proper -- the CGS of 28
member-countries, 35 their counterparts from Partner States and countries
that had sent troops for participation in Alliance operations -- also
arrive in Brussels.
One of the main subjects of discussions will be an analysis of
operations, with attention, naturally, being focused on the military
component of the operation in Afghanistan. With this end in view, a
separate round of consultations in a special format will be held here with
the participation of representatives of Afghanistan and Pakistan, apart
from NATO countries that are not part of the alliance of states
participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in
Afghanistan.
The NATO CGS will also discuss refinement of the military structure of
the Alliance -- specifically a continuation of work to form a NATO
Response Force, and the military component of NATO's new strategic concept
that is currently in the works.
The meeting will be also attended by former US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright, who is heading NATO's Council of Wise Persons. The
Council engages in the elaboration of the concept.
Within the framework of this set of activities, a session of the
Russia-NATO Council, the first one since the conflict in the Caucasus,
will be also held in Brussels at the level of CGS. On the Russian side the
session will be attended by Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov.
The sides are to coordinate this year's 30-event plan for
military-to-military cooperation, and share their vision of the entire
spectrum of bilateral relations in the military sphere.
At the NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting, Kiev's proposals on
participation in NATO Response Force are to be considered and the process
of military reforms in Ukraine reviewed.
Georgia will also take part in the upcoming consultations in Brussels
to discuss, chiefly, the military reform and the dispatch of a new
contingent of Georgian soldiers to Afghanistan.
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