Month: February 2019

“Gazprom Armenia” published a corresponding message regarding the gas tariff. Apart from that, no information is available, discussions are ongoing. Vakhtang Mirumyan, Deputy General Director of Gazprom Armenia, announced this at a press conference.

According to him, until the discussions are finished, no information can be given about the tariff changes and the developments resulting from them.

“All issues are being discussed now, they are being conducted in all directions, including investment, capital repair programs, losses, etc. The goal is that it does not harm the company’s operations or lead to undesirable results,” the official said.

Mirumyan also mentioned that two months are planned for the discussions, although he did not rule out that the period could be extended.

To remind, the price of Russian gas on the border of Armenia and Georgia from January 1, 2019 is 165 USD per 1000 cubic meters. Nikol Pashinyan announced that there will be no change in the price of gas imported from Russia for Armenian consumers.

The RA government plans to work actively in the direction of ensuring active and proactive participation of Armenia in the Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, contributing to increasing the efficiency of these structures. This is stipulated in the program of the RA government.

It is noted that this goal is considered among the main priorities of RA in the direction of developing strategic-alliance relations with the Russian Federation.

“Armenia-Russia relations are based on friendship, equality, willingness to solve issues with joint efforts. The government considers the military cooperation of the Republic of Armenia with the Russian Federation as an important component of the security system of Armenia,” the program says.

In addition, it is noted that RA will actively work towards the consistent development of friendly partnership with the USA. The government aims to deepen cooperation with the United States of America in order to support Armenia’s development and reform agenda and to expand dialogue aimed at regional stability.

The same applies to deepening friendly relations and expanding partnership with the EU, its member states and other European countries.

“The implementation of the Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is seen as a significant factor contributing to the Government’s reform agenda aimed at the development of Armenia. The government will continue to take steps to ensure the liberalization of EU visas for citizens of the Republic of Armenia,” the document states.

The former Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Artsakh Artur Aghabekyan addressed the question of the future president of Artsakh, stating who he sees in that position.

“Every time I am in the city of Stepanakert, I am constantly asked from the right and the left who will be the next president of Artsakh.

I publicly answer everyone. 2012 being the deputy prime minister of Artsakh and serving as prime minister Araik Harutyunyan knowing his ideas and vision about the future of Artsakh and its development, I believe that the next president of the country should be Arayik Harutyunyan, and now I declare that Arayik Harutyunyan has no alternative.

I will have many opportunities to talk about Araik Harutyunyan’s lack of an alternative in the near future,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Let’s remind that yesterday the former commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armed Forces, hero of Artsakh Samvel Babayanannounced that he intends to participate in the 2020 presidential elections in Artsakh.

Turkish President’s Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin responded to President Emmanuel Macron’s statement regarding the declaration of April 24 as the Armenian Genocide Memorial Day in France.

Kalin described Macron’s claims about the Armenian Genocide as a political lie.

“We strongly condemn Macron’s statement on declaring April 24 as the so-called Armenian Genocide Memorial Day,” Erdogan’s spokesman said. Cullen accused Macron of using historical events as a tool for political purposes.

Former Prime Minister of Artsakh, potential candidate for Artsakh president in 2020 Araik Harutyunyan responded to Samvel Babayan’s statement yesterday, in which the latter not only announced his participation in the presidential elections, but also said that former RA President Serzh Sargsyan negotiated concessions with the Artsakh authorities.

“Samvel Babayan announced yesterday in an interview to Azatutyun radio station that in 2017, the third president of RA, Serzh Sargsyan, negotiated concessions with Artsakh authorities. I would like to inform Mr. Babayan and our public that President Sargsyan has always been open to the negotiation process with Artsakh authorities during his administration, and all issues were discussed in conditions of mutual respect and dialogue.

Next: the mentioned famous meeting or more precisely the meetings did not take place in 2017, but in April and July 2016, where we came to a common declaration, that is, there can be no step back from the current actual status of Artsakh in the negotiation agenda, and the safety of the people of Artsakh must be absolutely guaranteed in the final settlement of the conflict.

P.S. The land-giving authority does not initiate the construction of the Vardenis-Martakert highway, does not implement a repatriation program, does not engage in the policy of proportional territorial development at the expense of investments and state funds, and ultimately does not strengthen the front line and the army.

Therefore, I urge you to refrain from such speculations. Instead, each of us should take concrete steps in the direction of the long-term protection and development of the motherland to the extent of our capabilities,” wrote Harutyunyan.

The government aimed to eliminate extreme poverty by 2023. This is stated in the government program.

The section dedicated to poverty alleviation of the project states: “The policy of the Government to improve the standard of living and the social condition of citizens, to implement social rights fully and effectively, will be based on the principle of equal opportunities and encouraging work. The primary tool for overcoming poverty is work, creating real opportunities for work.

The government aimed to eliminate extreme poverty by 2023, to significantly reduce poverty. Encouraging education and work among the poor, as well as implementing programs that promote business, will be of key importance for the realization of this goal.

The implementation of the integrated social services system will increase the efficiency of the management of the social protection system, as well as the quality of social services, which will be ensured in accordance with the social needs of the family (person), by providing a multi-faceted and complete package of social services and by strengthening the professional abilities of the staff. Encouraging the entry of private organizations in the field of social services, a competitive environment will be created, alternative financing models will be introduced, and the diversity of social services will be promoted.

Measures will be taken to ensure the availability and accessibility of social services by expanding the range of services provided online. The service delivery procedures will be improved, and the range of information (data) automatically obtained and used from other information systems will be expanded.

State pensions will be regularly increased, ensuring progressive growth of the average pension in relation to inflation. The cumulative component will also be reformed, encouraging the investment of cumulative funds in the Republic of Armenia.

The focus of the government’s attention will be the expansion of women’s economic opportunities, as well as the creation of favorable conditions for the realization of equal rights and equal opportunities for women and men.

Increasing the addressability of state employment regulation programs, introducing new programs aimed at increasing the competitiveness of young people, persons with disabilities, and women in the labor market, promoting “education-labour market” interactions, filling vacancies available at employers, and as a result, reducing the unemployment rate.

In order to implement the right to decent work, the mechanisms for regulating labor relations will be continuously simplified, they will comply with the requirements set by international agreements, and also, taking into account the macro-economic indicators of the country, a continuous increase of the minimum monthly salary will be carried out. The government is determined to significantly reduce unemployment by 2023.

In the context of further reforms of the institutional, operational and legal foundations of the inspection system for the protection of workers’ rights, the introduction of a complete and effective state control system over the fulfillment of the requirements of the labor legislation will be ensured, and the role of trade unions will be increased.

Reaffirming consistent efforts to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, the Government will continue to take all necessary measures to exclude discrimination based on disability in all spheres of life.

The government will be consistent in preventing children from entering orphanages, returning them to their families, as well as smoothly organizing the process of organizing the independent life of young people leaving the orphanage.

In order to mitigate the negative trends of the demographic situation recorded in the previous period, new programs for encouraging birth and supporting young families with children will be developed and implemented, within the framework of which, as necessary, existing programs will also be reviewed. Targeted programs will also be developed for repatriated families, giving priority to young families with children.

One of the most important goals of the government’s activity will be to inventory the housing problems of the families living in shacks until now as a result of the catastrophic earthquake of 1988, with the aim of providing apartments to families in need of housing as a result of the earthquake in the shortest possible time.

Armenia’s financial and banking indicators have significantly improved in the evaluations of Armenia’s global competitiveness. The Union of Banks of Armenia prepared a material about this.

We present the material below. “As it is known, the World Economic Forum regularly publishes the global competitiveness report of around 137 countries.

It should be noted that the aforementioned report is based on more than 100 indicators grouped in 12 main directions of the Global Competitiveness Index (GMI), within which a special place is given to the results of the development of the financial market.

The fact that in the global competitiveness index in 2017-2018 Among other areas of public life, Armenia has also improved its position in the “Development of the Financial Market” sector, moving from the 90th position in the previous report to the 78th position.

The improvement of this indicator has been contributed by the positive developments registered in a number of sub-directions, in particular, the position of our country in the “Access to Financial Services” sector has moved from the previous 99th position to the 96th position, in the “Availability of loans with only a business plan and without collateral” criterion, we have improved by 6 scales and instead of the previous 71st position, we have occupied the 65th position.

It is noteworthy that in the presented section, a significant improvement was also recorded in the component of reliability towards the financial and banking system, according to which the position of our country in terms of the reliability of banks has changed from the previous 80th place to the 75th place, and in the field of securities circulation regulations, a transition was made from the 85th position to the 79th position.

Among the improvements in global competitiveness ratings, there is also one significant observation, according to which our country has taken an unprecedentedly favorable position in the index of legislative rights, instead of the previous 68th position, it is now 30th. And the logic of all analyzes suggests that there is interaction in the improvement of the indicators of the legislative field and the financial sector. “Legislative reforms, reduction of court disputes, increase in the efficiency of the legal sector, lead to an obvious increase in the competitiveness rating of the country’s financial and banking system.”

According to the decision of the RA Prime Minister, the head of the Water Committee, Inessa Gabayan, was dismissed.

To remind, Inessa Gabayan was appointed to the position on July 10, 2018.

“Guided by Article 9, Part 7 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Public Service”, dismiss Inessa Gabayan from the position of the head of the water committee,” the draft decision says.

RPA first deputy chairman, RPA GM member Vigen Sargsyan, RPA deputy chairman, RPA GM member Mushegh Lalayan, RPA speaker, RPA GM member Eduard Sharmazanov, RPA GM member Vahram Baghdasaryan and RPA council member Artak Zakaryan hosted Sergey Kopirkin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the RA RF on February 5.

During the meeting, issues of further development of the Armenian-Russian allied relations were discussed. The necessity of regular organization of similar meetings was emphasized on both sides.

Today, a number of YSU researchers marched from YSU’s central building to the RA government building, demanding the annulment of the 2018 decision to change the form of basic funding provided by the state.

As is known, according to the decision N 1515-N “On measures to ensure the implementation of the 2019 state budget of the Republic of Armenia” adopted by the RA government on December 27, 2018, the basic funding of scientific and scientific and technical activities provided by the state was defined as a grant, and it was decided to allocate it from now on through a tender procedure.

YSU researchers have repeatedly stated their positions about the consequences of the adopted decision, stating that it will have negative consequences and harm science. YSU scientific council, YSU vice-rector for scientific policy and international cooperation expressed its position on this issue. Gegham Gevorgyan also met with journalists and clarified the problem.

Today, researchers are already calling for “For the sake of science”, “Let’s not let science disappear” and “

During the march, 4th-year student of YSU Chemistry Faculty Hovhannes Adonts said that he is participating in the protest because he is a beneficiary of the educational sector and is concerned about its future. “I think that today the appropriate attitude is not shown to this sector and the interests of its representatives are not protected.”

In front of the RA government building, the researchers clarified what their demand was for the representatives of various media. YSU Semiconductor Devices and Nanotechnologies Center junior researcher, physical math. candidate of sciences Hayk Zakaryan said that they demand a final solution to the issue, approved by the RA government’s decision.

Hayk Zakaryan stated that before this innovation, the base funding was not tendered, but monitoring and inspections were always carried out. “In other words, the hypothesis that financing through a tender procedure solves the problem of efficiency is actually a misunderstanding.”

Anna Kotanjyan, deputy director of the YSU Physics Research Institute, said that YSU is not against the competition system, but against such drastic changes. “Making hasty decisions like this disrupts our normal work. We have planned many events, international conferences, which we have to implement, but today we do not know what work status we will have in the near future. That is, will we be able to implement them or not?”

Gevorg Grigoryan, a senior researcher at the base laboratory of the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry of YSU, noted that the protest does not have any political context. “We are not going to demand anyone’s resignation or make other calls. We are just here to point out the loopholes in the decision and the negative consequences that flow from it. We hope everything ends well.”

Hayk Zakaryan, a junior researcher at the YSU Semiconductor Devices and Nanotechnology Center, read the application-proposal of the researchers, which requests to suspend the government’s decision 1515-N, to organize public discussions for the improvement and improvement of science funding mechanisms, in particular base funding, and before making any decision about science, to discuss it publicly with the scientific community.

“Without questioning the need for reforms in the scientific and scientific-educational spheres, we hope that the government will find an opportunity to make changes in the said decision. In the future, it is necessary to develop a new law on science with the broad participation of scientific workers, making a smooth transition to a more effective scientific and scientific education system,” the application states.

The representatives of the scientific community signed the document, which was handed over to the relevant authorities.

By the way, during today’s session of the RA government, a decision was made to provide base and targeted program funding for 2019 to organizations with foundation or CJSC status.

While the researchers were voicing their grievances in the courtyard of the government building, the executive inside the building made a decision that the changes will take effect from next year, and before that the basic principles and standards of base funding will be defined, a new order of base funding will be proposed, etc.

“As a matter of fact, the state does not monitor or evaluate the results of the centers to which it provides basic funding, and this procedure will already define very clearly what purposes are served by all the funds that the state allocates to these centers,” said Minister of Education and Science Arayik Harutyunyan.