YEREVAN, May 29. /АРКА/. French University in Armenia will launch a new four-year bachelor program on finance in banking and insurance businesses in the next academic year, Jean-Jacques Montois, the head of the university, told journalists on Thursday.

In his words, up to 60 students will be enrolled for the new curricula, who will be employed by banks and insurance companies.

Montois said that development of Armenia’s banking sector give grounds for thinking that Armenia has all chances to become a regional financial center.

He said that the main aim of the university is to create French-speaking elite that will work in Armenia and cooperate closely with France.

Montois stressed that 80% of the university’s graduates are employed in Armenia, and 30% of them are working at the country’s banks.

Samvel Chzmachyan, chairman of the Union of Banks of Armenia, on his side, said that the French banking system is reckoned among most developed in the world and that its experience will be very useful for Armenia.

He also said that the union is ready to organize students’ visits to banks for training. Banks’ specialists will give master classes for the university’s students.

June 20 is the deadline for submitting applications, and the first exams on mathematics and Armenian and foreign languages are scheduled for June 23.

Annual tuition fee is 580,000 drams. Some 10% of students will be studying for free, and the list of the student exempted from paying tuition fee will change later depending on their performance.

The new program is to be launched as part of the Armenian-French intergovernmental cooperation under the support from the Union of Banks of Armenia and the Central Bank of Armenia and with partnership with ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK. ($1 – AMD 413.37).–0--