Tánaiste to meet with Armenian Foreign Minister and to sign Double Taxation Agreement with Armenia

Tánaiste to meet with Armenian Foreign Minister and to sign Double Taxation Agreement with Armenia

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore T.D., will meet the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, in Iveagh House tomorrow.  This will be Minister Nalbandian’s first visit to Ireland. 

The Tánaiste will sign a double Taxation Agreement between Ireland and Armenia as part of the Government’s efforts to broaden Ireland’s trade and economic relations.  These will also be strengthened by the conclusion of an Association Agreement between Armenia and the EU later this year.  Commenting on the signing, the Tánaiste said:

“The Double Taxation Agreement is a significant step which will assist both Irish and Armenian businesses and facilitate bilateral trade and investment. Irish companies are always looking for opportunities to grow their businesses into new markets. I have no doubt, therefore, that the Agreement will have a positive impact on trade and investment between our two countries.”

The Tánaiste and Minister Nalbandian will also have talks on political issues in the context of Ireland’s forthcoming Chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).  It is expected that these talks will focus on the conflicts in the Southern Caucasus region, in particular, the long-running dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.  The OSCE has been at the forefront of international efforts to arrive at a settlement of this dispute and these efforts will directly concern Ireland as OSCE Chair.   

Minister Nalbandian will also visit the Dáil and Seanad and will address the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA). He will also visit the Chester Beatty library to view Armenian artefacts in the collection there.

Note for editors:
Double taxation agreements cover direct taxes on income and capital gains, which in Ireland’s case are Income Tax, the Universal Social Charge, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax.After the signing of this Agreement with Armenia Ireland will have signed Double Taxation Agreements with 63 countries, of which 55 are in effect (a full list can be found on the Revenue Commissioners website - www.revenue.ie/en/practitioner/law/tax-treaties.html ). A new agreement with Hong Kong came into force on 10 February 2011 and will be effective from 1 January 2012. The legal procedures to bring new agreements with Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kuwait, Montenegro, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates into force have been completed by Ireland.  Negotiations on agreements with Ukraine and Uzbekistan were recently concluded and there are a number of other negotiations for new agreements and re-negotiations of existing agreements ongoing.