re to close it due to concerns that the Soviet
era design lacks important safeguards. Metsamor provides 40 percent
of the country's electricity - hydropower accounts for about
one-fourth. Economic ties with Russia remain close, especially in
the energy sector. The electricity distribution system was
privatized in 2002 and bought by Russia's RAO-UES in 2005.
Construction of a pipeline to deliver natural gas from Iran to
Armenia is halfway completed and is scheduled to be commissioned by
January 2009. Armenia has some mineral deposits (copper, gold,
bauxite). Pig iron, unwrought copper, and other nonferrous metals
are Armenia's highest valued exports. Armenia's severe trade
imbalance has been offset somewhat by international aid, remittances
from Armenians working abroad, and foreign direct investment.
Armenia joined the WTO in January 2003. The government made some
improvements in tax and customs administration in recent years, but
anti-corruption measures will be more difficult to implement.
Despite strong economic growth, Armenia's unemployment rate remains
high. Armenia will need to pursue additional economic reforms in
order to improve its economic competitiveness and to build on recent
improvements in poverty and unemployment, especially given its
economic isolation from two of its nearest neighbors, Turkey and
Azerbaijan.

Aruba
Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban economy,
with offshore banking and oil refining and storage also important.
The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has
resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Over 1.5
million tourists per year visit Aruba, with 75% of those from the
US. Construction continues to boom, with hotel capacity five times
the 1985 level. In addition, the country's oil refinery reopened in
1993, providing a major source of employment, foreign exchange
earnings, and growth. Tourist arrivals have rebounded strongly
following a dip after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The island
experiences only a brief low season, and hotel occupancy in 2004
averaged 80%, compared to 68% throughout the rest of the Caribbean.
The government has made cutting the budget and trade deficits a high
priority.

Ashmore and Cartier Islands
no economic activity

Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most
heavily trafficked sea routes, between and wit