YEREVAN, January 23. / ARKA /. A bas-relief of the great English poet Lord George Gordon Byron, a great friend of the Armenian people who is known for his Armenian studies, was inaugurated today in downtown Yerevan near the head office of ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK.

The Bank said in a press release that since its inception it has been actively involved in the cultural life of the country, providing support to implementation of various cultural programs.

''By upholding its tradition, this time we partnered with sculptor Hayk Tokmajyan as part of our social responsibility program to initiate the implementation of another program,' ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK said.

"Emphasizing the Armenian-British cooperation and the great poet's input into the Armenian studies, ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK decided to make up for the lack of a monument to this great figure. Although the bas-relief was mounted on the wall of a building at Byron Street, 1, where the head office of the bank is several months ago, the grand opening was scheduled for the birthday of Lord George Gordon Byron – which is on January 22," the press release says.

ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK CEO Hakob Andreasyan says this event is perhaps a bit belated, but long-awaited.

"Our bank is located on Byron Street, but there was no monument or a memorial plaque to him on the street, and that was why we decided to make up for this omission," he said.

A letter of gratitude was sent by the poet's great grandson Lord Robin Byron, who says that placing Lord Byron's bas-relief in downtown Yerevan in the street bearing his name is very enthusiastic.

"I first learned about his deep respect for the Armenians in 1988 when it was decided to name a repaired school in earthquake-hit Gyumri with the British assistance after Lord Byron ", he says in the letter.

The poet's great-grandson thanked all the people who were involved in this project sending his best wishes to all Armenians.

"I look forward to see the bas-relief, probably during my next visit," he said.

The letter was read by Narek Tovmasian, who oversees art projects of the British Council.
ACBA was established in 1996, within TACIS program of the European Union. Long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation between ACBA Bank and the leading French banking group Credit Agricole led Credit Agricole bank group to become the biggest shareholder of ACBA on September 15, 2006, by making a significant financial investment into the bank capital. ACBA was restructured, becoming a closed joint stock company and it was renamed ACBA CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK. -0-