ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS NOT SUBMITTED TO RA CC YET
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.11.2009 11:20 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has not introduced
the Armenia-Turkey protocols to the Constitutional Court yet, spokesman
for RA CC Hovhannes Papikyan told PanARMENIAN.Net.
He did not rule out that the protocols will be submitted during
November 3 CC session.
TURKEY WILL BE ARMENIA’S TRADE PARTNER LIKE OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE REGION
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.11.2009 12:58 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey will be Armenia’s trade partner like other
countries of the region, deputy head of State Income Committee Armen
Alaverdyan said.
"So long as both Armenia and Turkey are WTO members, Armenia can’t
set any different customs of tax rules on Turkey. As to customs
administration, we should carry out a great deal of work before
opening checkpoints," he told a news conference on November 3.
Commenting on fears that Turkish goods will flood Armenian market,
Alaverdyan said the local market will admit as many goods as it can.
"If goods are too many prices will fall, as result," he said.
Alaverdyan also informed that the budget was replenished with AMD
427,9 billion. "Returns decreased by 16% due to the economic crisis,"
he said.
INTERNET IN ARMENIA CHEAPER COMPARED TO LAST YEAR
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.11.2009 13:12 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Internet in Armenia is now cheaper compared to last
year, Armen Grigoryan, Executive Secretary of IT Development Support
Council under RA Government, told a press conference in Yerevan. "As
early as a couple of years. ago I said Internet in Armenia was
18 times more expensive compared to international prices. Current
prices are conditioned by objective factors, but there is a chance
for decreasing them," Armen Grigoryyan said.
At that he noted that Armenia is currently provided with Internet
connection via Iran and Georgia, but it is necessary to join European
network by finding shorter ways. "Prices will essentially decrease,
if there are other providers apart from ArmenTel and FiberNet,"
Grigoryan stressed.
He particularly focused on providing Internet connection via Turkey
which is on the European Internet route. "If we manage to provide
connection via Turkey, we’ll definitely have high quality Internet
at European prices," he added.
Grigoryan also said that ArmenTel is currently negotiating with
Turkey, and there are certain agreements over the issue. "If things
go as planned, next year we’ll have an Internet channel from Turkey,"
he noted.
5 ARMENIANS INCLUDED IN FIDE LIST OF 100 BEST CHESS PLAYERS
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.11.2009 13:21 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ FIDE issued its November Rankings upon completion
of European Chess Team Championship 2009. Armenian grandmaster Levon
Aronian is the fourth with 2786 points, following Veselin Topalov
(Bulgaria, 2810 points), Magnus Karlsen (Norway, 2801 points) and
Viswanathan Anand (India, 2788 points).
Vladimir Hakobyan is the 35th with 2700 points. Gabriel Sargsyan is
the 51st with 2676 points. Arman Pashikyan is the 71st with 2656
points. Sergei Movsisyan representing Slovakia is the 22nd with
2718 points.
ArmenTel lowers prices for calls to other Armenian mobile operators
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.11.2009 13:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ArmenTel CJSC (brand name: Beeline) has launched
"For You – Exclusive" tariff plan, decreasing prices for calls to
other mobile operators. Per minute price for Beeline subscribers
making calls to other mobile networks will hereafter comprise AMD
29.99 instead of the AMD 39 established earlier.
"The new tariff offer makes communication more comfortable and
accessible not only within our network but also for calls to other
mobile operators in Armenia and NKR," Company’s General Director Igor
Klymko said.
Subscribers to all Beeline tariff plans can freely join "For
You-Exclusive" without changing their number.
Price for joining the tariff plan comprises AMD 299. No additional
fee is charged from subscribers of "For You", "Republic", "Talk" and
"Free Communication" tariff plans. Per day subscriber fee for users
of other tariff plans will comprise AMD 29.99.
Subscribers to new tariff plan can make calls within Beeline network
at the price of AMD 19 per minute. SMS and MMS messages within the
network will cost AMD 9 and AMD 19 respectively. Message price for
other mobile operators (including international) will comprise AMD
20 for SMS and AMD 50 – for MMS.
"For You Exclusive" envisages reasonable tariffs for mobile Internet:
AMD 29/1Mb outgoing/incoming data.
ARMTECH 2009 – OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW THE WORLD ARMENIA’S ACHIEVEMENTS IN HI TECH SPHERE
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.11.2009 14:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ArmTech 2009 conference scheduled in San Jose,
California, for November 5-8 is a good platform for showing the world
Armenia’s achievements in Hi tech sphere, Armen Grigoryan, Executive
Secretary of IT Development Support Council under RA Government, told
journalists in Yerevan. "This is already the third ArmTech conference
which brings together Armenian and foreign IT representatives for
discussing the main trends of the sphere," he noted. Apart from IT
development issues, conference will focus on questions like higher
education, science and innovation, Internet protection etc.
"The conference which will last 3 days will be attended by
representatives from 40-50 Armenian companies. That’s a good chance
for them to introduce their services and invite investors to Armenia.
Of course, no results will be achieved within a day, but if we manage
to attract a couple of companies, that will already be success,"
Grigoryan stressed.
At that he noted that Armenian Government attaches much significance
to ArmTech 2009 and has provided financial assistance for its
organization. Armenian delegation participating in conference will
be headed by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan. "The conference enables
us to exchange experience with other countries, and we are currently
carrying out work for organizing the event in France and UAE," Armen
Grigoryan said.
WB GIVES PRIOR IMPORTANCE TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF COMPETITIVE SITUATION IN ARMENIA
ARMENPRESS
Nov 30, 2009
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS: Chairman of the Armenian Economic
Competitiveness Commission David Harutyunyan conducted today its first
official meeting in this office receiving the head of the World Bank
Armenian Office Aristomene Varudakis.
Press secretary of the commission Armine Udumyan told Armenpress
that in Armenia the competitive situation and the authorities of the
commission need to be reformed: "And I think that we have a long way
to pass in this issue." WB office director noted that today they may
put the first point of the next round of cooperation.
A. Varudakis said that WB has a program of working with Armenia where
in the action program a prior importance is given to the improvement
of competitive situation. "There is an objective to encourage new
investment programs which is very important for promoting developing
of business, and competitiveness especially in the pre-context of
possible opening of border with Turkey," he said.
The chairman of the commission said that with the cooperation of the
World Bank on the way of improvement of the competitiveness there is a
goal to solve a number of important issues, strengthen the authorities
of the commission, its skills, clarify the mechanisms of applying them,
increase the level of professional skills of the specialists, etc.
Within the framework of cooperation a memorandum will be signed.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN PRESENTED THE COUNTRY’S FINANCIAL, ECONOMIC SITUATION IN THE NA
ARMENPRESS
Nov 30, 2009
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS: The discussion on "RA 2010 State
Budget" draft kicked off today in the standing committees of the
Armenian National Assembly. Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
before passing to chief discussions, presented the country’s financial,
economic situation, the anti-crisis programs of the government and
its results, the budget implementation of this year, expenditures.
According to him, the basis of this year’s activity where anti-crisis
events having the main target the ensuring of macroeconomic and
financial stability which were presented to the NA in November of
the past year.
Steps have been undertaken for the development of important
infrastructures in respect of ensuring activity of regional importance.
The prime minister said that in conditions of crisis the most justified
investments are considered the sums invested in the development of
infrastructures.
>From Armenian infrastructures the prime minister singled out the
construction of the new energy unit. With the results of the tender,
"Warley parsons" company has won and must head the construction works
for the organization of which about 400,000 USD have been spent. The
NA has recently approved the law on construction of new energy unit.
Tigran Sargsyan said this year road of 365 km total length will be
exploited. With their volume these works exceed the volume of the
road construction of the past year: in 2008 163 km of roads were
reconstructed. About 14 billion AMD work have been carried out in
the water supply system, about 300 km of inner network has been
reconstructed.
The projecting works of North-South transport corridor are in
process. The Asian Development Bank has already approved the decision
of providing 500 million USD to Armenia with that aim, 60 million
out of which has been provided.
Concrete steps have been undertaken toward the construction of
Armenia-Iran railway. T. Sargsyan said that a responsible company for
implementing control over the construction works has been created,
budget provisions were made so that the company start working.
During the running year All-Armenian Bank has been established which
will start working from the next year and in near future its head
must be elected. The business program of the bank has already been
developed.
The prime minister also said that in spite of the situation created
in the country as a result of the global crisis and the 18.5 economic
decline, in the "Doing Business" rating Armenia has improved its
position with seven points being ranked the 43d from the past 50th
place.
DR. VARTAN GREGORIAN TO BE HONORED BY ARMENIAN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY
By Florence Avakian
AZG DAILY
03-11-2009
Diaspora
On November 7, Dr. Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie
Corporation of New York, will be honored as "Professional of the Year"
by the Armenian Professional Society, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel
in Universal City, California.
An Interview with Dr. Vartan Gregorian is a unique experience. He
impresses one as a brilliant, wise, self confident, and utterly
forthright individual. As he came out of his office on Monday
afternoon, September 28, his well known exuberance was evident as he
warmly greeted me with a big bear hug and a beaming smile. Expecting
to see an opulent office with expensive furniture for a person of
his exalted position, I was happily surprised to find a cozy room
lined with thousands of books, many double-stacked in bookcases,
on his desk and some even crowding the seats. It could have easily
doubled as a comfortable library setting. As befitting the man,
it was truly a working office, not a showplace.
Dr. Gregorian is a man on a mission, and his relaxed down-to-earth
demeanor belies the intense passion he feels on the subject closest
to his heart, that of education. His responses in the first of two
parts of this exclusive interview reveal that earnest feeling.
PART ONE—-EDUCATION, ITS VALUES AND PITFALLS
FA — Dr. Gregorian, why are you so devoted to the need to foster
higher education?
VG — The United States has been the world’s leader in higher education
because of several factors. First, even in the middle of the Civil
War, Abraham Lincoln established land grant universities. That was
historically one of the most important turning points for America,
whereby every state would have a university. He put universities
in populated areas, and where the potential of those states would
be realized. Lincoln’s foresight in expanding access to higher
education provided America with leadership later on, in the industrial
revolution.
Second, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was instrumental in promoting
a future for science. During World War II, because of Roosevelt and a
landmark report by his science adviser, Vannevar Bush, science, unlike
in Europe and the Soviet Union, was to be centered in universities, in
order to bring competition, different perspectives, and also so that
undergraduates and graduates could be exposed to research. This was
very important. Even after Roosevelt died, his successor, President
Truman, adopted that policy so that a post-War strategy for advancing
science in the U.S. was firmly established.
Third, the G.I. bill democratized American higher education. Eleven
million returning military servicemen, instead of becoming unemployed,
went to universities; similar programs are in place today. In the
decades following the end of World War II, a related concern was how
to provide support for the growing number of students who wanted to
attend institutions of higher education. This problem was addressed,
in part, through the 1973 Pell Grant program, which has awarded more
than $100 billion in grants to an estimated 30 million postsecondary
students, rather than giving it to the universities. The portability
of these grants led to much competition and put universities on the
defensive. They had to satisfy their clients, the students.
Then, worries that Sputnik meant the Soviet Union was outpacing the
U.S. resulted in a resurgence of science in America, which also led
the way for men to go to the moon. Though this was a reactive mode, not
planned, the Cold War in many ways did accelerate the organization of
higher education in the U.S. The Fulbright, Muskie, Humphrey, NEH,
NIH fellowships, etc., promoted research in all the fields, from
humanities to the sciences. America has been the leader in all of this.
PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES
FA — Yes, I was one of the recipients of the NEH (National Endowment
for the Humanities) fellowship at Cornell University. You have said
we were the leader in higher education. This all sounds very positive.
What have been the problems, and what are the challenges of obtaining
this higher education in the United States?
VG — We were, and still are the leader, but the rest of the world
is catching up, and we’re "sleeping" for two reasons. First, only 50
percent of our high school students graduate. In the 19th century,
higher education was only for the elite. And we had a population of
under 100 million. Now our population is about 300 million.
Second, as land grant universities were established, higher education
was supposed to be supported by the state. For example,
I came to California in 1956 as a freshman. At that time, tuition was
$750 at Stanford University. Berkeley was $50 a semester. Today, it is
somewhere around $40,000 at Stanford, and at Berkeley, somewhere around
$10-$14,000. And it’s important to note that Berkeley is a public
university, not private. When I was at school, the states underwrote
the entire cost of public higher education, but are no longer doing
this, because they don’t have the funds. The State of Michigan,
for instance, provides only seven or eight percent of the support
needed by the University of Michigan, one of the best universities
in the country. The California university system is turning people
away because the demand is so great and there are not enough seats
for all the students who want to attend. The situation is exacerbated
by the fact that 90 percent of the funding that the university needs
now has to come from tuition, fund raising and faculty research.
FA — How can this very serious problem of finances be resolved?
VG — States have to provide support, but there are even more obstacles
in the way of universities developing their own resources.
For example, Michigan says you can only have 33 percent of the students
from other states-and it is out-of-state students who pay higher
tuition fees. State universities also welcome foreign students because
they are among the few who can pay full fare in terms of tuition. So
more and more, we are educating foreign students in order to make
money and help our universities survive. And the worst thing is,
the more we increase the number of students, the more tuition goes
up. We also have a 19th century infrastructure trying to serve 21st
century educational needs. So new solutions are required.
One solution is to fundraise for public universities. In the past,
that was the province of private higher education: private institutions
relied on private sources and public institutions relied on public
sources. Now, in that realm, there is no division between public and
private universities-both try to raise funds from both sectors. But
public universities have another roadblock in their way: since the
state is the major shareholder in state universities, even if you
want to build a new campus building or facility, you need to get
state authorization.
FA — From what you have discussed, is this part of the 20-year plan
you had envisioned?
20-YEAR PLAN
VG — I was misquoted on this. What I had said was that there ought
to be a 20-year plan. And what I have now described should be in this
plan. How do you fix all these problems? Maybe you have to have a
special tax. For example, perhaps five percent of the tax Californians
pay should go to their universities. There has to be a solution,
or else people who want to study but can’t afford it will go into
great indebtedness or simply not be able to access higher education,
especially now with the economy still in such trouble. Thankfully,
interest rates remain low, so student loans are still relatively
reasonable enough to encourage people to pursue higher education. On
the graduate level, ironically, if you study for your PH.D, the
university will underwrite the cost, but if you study for any other
graduate degree, you have to pay.
FA — Dr. Gregorian, you mentioned that the rest of the world is
catching up to the United States. What are the advantages that they
have that the United States doesn’t have? Can you elucidate?
VG — From Singapore to China to India to Germany, etc., many countries
have state-supported programs that make tuition affordable.
Two years ago, the University of Denmark President came here and
we were talking at NYU. He was astonished at the idea that public
institutions in the U.S. had to raise money from private sources:
he said that in Denmark, it was illegal for him to raise private funds.
CURRENT SITUATION IN ARMENIA
FA — Those are the Scandinavian states. What is the current situation
in Armenia? They had free tuition under the Soviet rule.
How do they manage now?
VG — There is no more free tuition-and who said they’re managing? The
first thing that Armenia has to invest in, like the Scandinavian
countries, is education. Even in the Armenian army, they should teach
computer science, mathematics, and other sciences. Speaking to that
point, let me mention that the last time I was in Armenia, I could not
find a bookstore. Ethnically, Armenians and Jews during the Soviet
period had the highest percentage of degrees in science, chemistry,
mathematics, etc., and one could order books from Eastern Europe.
Books could be obtained from bookstores and libraries. The collapse of
the Soviet Union, in many ways, has washed away many of our gains. And
now, there is no modern bookstore where you can order foreign books.
FA — What is the reason for this regression in Armenia?
VG — After years of a repressive regime, suddenly Armenians have the
freedom to focus on personal gain first, and only after that come the
interests of the family and of society. When I was in Armenia, I found
an abundance of karaoke singing, casinos, hamburger joints, cafes,
ostentatious houses, and many, many churches. Following eighty years
of Communism, I believe that we have built enough churches now. The
church itself should begin to invest in education. We like to think
we’re the first nation to become Christian, that we’re the best,
the cleanest. But Armenians have a long way to go to accept the very
concept that the state is now theirs. That means that if something
goes wrong in the country, it is likely to affect all the people. I
don’t blame Armenia, because for centuries it was under foreign rule.
Self-preservation was the major issue. That’s why rebuilding Armenia
is a major challenge today.
BABAJANYAN AND SHOSTAKOVICH BY ARAM KHACHATOURIAN TRIO
AZG DAILY
03-11-2009
Culture
In September 2009, the Aram Khachaturian Trio brought out an
outstanding CD dedicated to Arno Babajanyan’s "Trio for Violin,
Cello and Piano" and Dmitry Shostakovich’s "Trio No. 2".
Members of the Aram Khachaturian Trio, namely Armine Grigoryan,
Karen Shahgaldyan and Karen Kocharyan -distinguished virtuoso
performing artists individually, playing piano, violin and cello
respectively- have managed to create an almost perfect musical
trinity, by interweaving their profound sense of harmony, with the
perfect technique and craftsmanship one finds in abundance in their
performance.
Lovers of Babajanyan and Shostakovich will not find a better
interpretation of the above works, as conveyed in the recently
released CD.
Hopefully Armenian communities worldwide will promote the outstanding
talent of these artists by organizing concerts for the Aram
Khachaturian Trio in their respective countries.
We give below brief information about the formation of the Aram
Khachaturian Trio and the musicians associated with it.
History
The Aram Khachaturian Trio, founded as Trio "Arsika" in 1999,
has toured extensively throughout Central and South America,
Switzerland, Russia and Armenia. The Trio has participated in a
number of prestigious festivals, the Festival de las Artes (Costa
Rica) and Festival International Cervaittino (Mexico), to name but
a few. The Arsika Trio’s performances have been frequently broadcast
by TV and Radio.
In 2008 the Trio took the name of an outstanding Armenian composer,
Aram Khachaturian.
Critics have highly praised the Khachaturian Trio’s virtuoso
performances, subtle sense of style, warm sound, brilliant and deep
musicality. Members of the Trio are also involved in teaching. They
give master classes in music schools across various regions in Armenia.
The Trio works in close collaboration with contemporary composers. It
has premiered a number of new works commissioned by them. The members
of the Trio are established and highly regarded chamber musicians.
Their repertoire covers a wide range of music styles.
Members of the Trio Armine Grigoryan, piano.
A graduate of the Yerevan Tchaikovsky School of Music, who has also
completed Yerevan State Conservatory postgraduate studies under the
guidance of Professors Georgy and Sergey Saradjian, Armine Grigoryan,
has appeared with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, performing piano
concertos by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms. As an accompanist, she has
won Special prizes at Aram Khachaturian (1997) and Levon Chilingirian
(2002) Competitions. Armine has collaborated with renowned violinist
Nikolay Madoyan performing versatile programmes including Beethoven’s
10 Sonatas. She has toured Russia, Italy, UAE, Germany, Lithuania,
Lebanon, Cyprus and the USA. Armine Grigoryan is a laureate of the
"Roma-2003" Piano Competition, where she also received a Special prize
and Medal from the Chamber of Deputies of Rome. CDs of her recordings
have been released. In 2005, for the first time in Armenia, Armine
Grigoryan organized a festival of the Art of Accompaniment. As a jury
member she has participated in a number of local and International
Competitions. Armine is a Professor at Yerevan State Conservatory
and since 2004, director of the Aram Khachaturian Museum.
Karen Shahgaldyan, violin
A graduate of Moscow Conservatory (class of Viktor Tretyakov), he
completed postgraduate studies with Prof. Maya Glezarova. He has
participated in master classes given by Y. Menuhin, V Spivakov, G.
Zhislin and Y Chugaeva. From 1998-2002 Karen Shahgaldyan performed
with members of the famous "Moscow Virtuosi" under Vladimir Spivakov
in 2003 and 2004. During the 2004-2005 season he appeared as a soloist
with various orchestras, playing on a Stradivarius violin given him on
loan by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Karen is a
laureate of the International Pablo Sarasate Competition (Spain). He
has won scholarships with the David Oistrach and Yuri Yankelevich
Foundations, as well as the Mstislav Rostropovich International
Foundation. Karen has toured widely throughout the USA, Sweden,
South Korea, Armenia and Russia.
Karen Kocharyan, cello
A graduate of the Yerevan Tchaikovsky School of Music (Class of Prof.
Alexander Chaushyan) and Yerevan State Conservatory (class of Prof
Geronty Talalyan). Karen Kocharyan is one of the founding members
of the Khachaturian Trio, first solo cellist of the Armenian Chamber
Players (ACP) and Associate Concertmaster of the Armenian Philharmonic
Orchestra. He has toured with the Armenian Chamber Players and Armenian
Philharmonic Orchestra throughout Europe as soloist. In 2005 Karen
Kocharyan , under the conductor Alexander Ivashkin (UK), appeared
as soloist with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2006 with
Eduard Topchjan and the Pasadena LAC Symphony Orchestra he took part
in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Karen Kocharyan is a highly acclaimed
chamber musician.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress