Month: February 2021

Armenian side expects UN’s support in preserving Artsakh's historical-culture heritage

 15:00, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Minister of education, science, culture and sport Vahram Dumanyan received UN Resident Coordinator for Armenia Shombi Sharp and his delegation, the ministry told Armenpress.

The meeting was also attended by the representatives of the ministry and the UN Office in Armenia.

Welcoming the guests, the minister attached importance to the ongoing educational, scientific, cultural and sports projects implemented by the support of the UN, expressing hope that they will continue with a greater activeness.

Vahram Dumanyan said the US mission is highly important especially in the post-war crisis.

“The Armenian side expects the support of the international organizations and in particular the UN in the preservation of the Armenian historical-cultural heritage in the territories of Artsakh which have come under the Azerbaijani control due to the 2020 war. That historical cultural monuments are the universal civilizational values created by the Armenian people”, the minister said, expressing hope that the UN Office in Armenia will continue its support aimed at the full exercise of the children’s right to education who have appeared in the post-war period.

In his turn the UN Resident Coordinator for Armenia also highlighted the bilateral partnership and stated: “The UN Office in Armenia highly values the years-long cooperation with the ministry of education”, he said, adding that they expect to continue supporting the educational reforms in Armenia. “In particular, we will soon focus on creating temporary educational sites and will assist in providing access to quality education for children who have been displaced from Nagorno Karabakh and sheltered in Armenia”.

At the meeting other issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-war situation were also discussed.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 13:46, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenian-made loitering munitions are undergoing state testing and will then pass a combat test, followed by serial production, Minister of High Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyan said at a news conference.

Arshakyan reminded that the government has recognized the defense industry as a priority.

Speaking about artillery equipment and the capacity of manufacturing ammunitions, he said: “The possibilities that were created, will be able to fully meet our domestic military demand in Armenia already this year. I am referring to artillery measures, mortars, grenade launchers and other directions. Rather serious investments were made in Armenia. And in this regard we already have an industrial process and the opportunity for expanding it in 2021.”  

Arshakyan said there were dozens of funded projects for the development of combat and recon UAVs as part of scientific-research programs. “A part of them are now reaching their logical completion. We are already achieving industrial capabilities in terms of both strike and reconnaissance drones. Reconnaissance UAVs that are not lagging behind parameter-wise from similar drones can already be manufactured in Armenia,” he said, adding that these Armenian-made drones have been widely used by the Armenian military in the Artsakh war.

He said the loitering munitions are successfully passing the state testing in some cases and the process will be followed by military tests.

Arshakyan said Armenian-developed radar technologies used in air defense equipment have also been successfully used. “In this direction we will continue funding – radar systems, communication systems, optical and surveillance, laser systems. In terms of optical surveillance systems we also have rather serious developments, and already industrial capacity, soon we will expand this and greater opportunities will be created both in terms of our military supplies and exports,” he said.

In 2017, the government allocated 1,6 billion drams to the defense industry. In 2018 allocations grew to 2,4 billion, then to 3,8 billion in 2019. In 2020, the funding was 3,3 billion, plus an additional 3,4 billion as the war began. In 2021 a 4,6 billion funding is planned.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:39, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan discussed the steps on implementing major infrastructure projects in Artsakh, the Armenian PM’s spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan said on Facebook.

“Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan chair consultation on the implementation of major infrastructure projects in Artsakh, attended by the heads of the responsible agencies of the Armenian government. The consultation outlined the future programs, their financial allocations and further steps”, the spokesperson said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 13:34, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed certainty that “institutional investors” believe in Armenia’s economic and political future.

Speaking at a consultation in the Ministry of Economy, Pashinyan noted that the coronavirus pandemic and the war became the reasons of crisis in 2020, threatening the country’s economy, but in his words his government was able to manage the pandemic and avoid macroeconomic collapse during the war.

“We were able to maintain macroeconomic stability and get international acknowledgement of this stability through the successful issuance of the eurobonds. The most visible and tangible assessment is the approach of institutional investors when they trust the country and government with their investments. After all, this is an important indicator of trust. This issuance was made at the historic lowest interest rate in Armenia. This means that institutional investors believe first of all in the economic future, and understandably also the political future of Armenia,” Pashinyan said, referring to the issuance of the 750 million dollar eurobonds.

He then discussed future steps with the ministry officials.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:03, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The House of Representatives of the Netherlands wants the government to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, NL Times reports, stating that “so far, the cabinet was always careful to speak of the Armenian genocide”.

The parliamentary majority approved the motion submitted by the Christian Union (ChristenUnie).

According to ChristenUnie parliamentarian Joel Voordewind, it is over 100 years since the genocide and Armenians are still feeling threatened by Turkey. He added that last year, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan supported Azerbaijan in their fight against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. “This aggression must be stopped”, Voordewind said.

And a majority in parliament – PVV, CDA, SP, GroenLinks, SGP, PvdD, 50Plus, FvD, and independent MPs Henk Krol and Femke Van Kooten-Arissen – agree that acknowledging the genocide can help promote reconciliation and prevent another genocide.  “That is why it is first of all very important that countries speak out clearly. A large majority in parliament calls on the Dutch government to finally do this”, Voordewind said. The motion will be put to the vote in the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon.

 ventilators made in Armenia ready for clinical trials

 12:28, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. 5 ventilators made in Armenia are already ready, clinical trials will soon be conducted, Minister of High technological industry Hakob Arshakyan said at a press conference, commenting on the ventilator funding project.

“5 such devices have already been prepared. They have almost passed the trial stage, and there is a need for clinical trials. No such complex devices have been made in Armenia as far as I know. They are complex systems, and acknowledge of such knowledge can have a very serious effect in Armenia”, the minister said.

He informed that the company which won the tender has participated in the programming licensing competition developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 28 out of the 330 companies representing 42 countries have won the competition, and one of them has been that company. The minister said that thanks to this it was possible to make this device in Armenia.

Arshakyan added that the first five samples will soon be introduced in a separate event.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 12:25, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Starting from 13 February 2021 Air Arabia will restart operating flights on the route Sharjah-Yerevan-Sharjah, the “Armenia” International Airports” CJSC said in a statement.

“Flights will be operated twice a week, every Tuesday and Saturday. For the availability of air tickets, their acquisition and other details, please contact the airline”, the statement says.

 11:41, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The Federation of Armenian Organizations in the Netherlands (FAON) welcomes the motion of MP Joël Voordewind (ChristenUnie), which explicitly calls on the government to recognize the Armenian Genocide, the FAON told Armenpress.

The motion is also signed by M. van Helvert (CDA), S. Karabulut (SP), B. van Ojik (GroenLinks), G. Wilders (PVV), T. Baudet (FvD), K. van der Staaij (SGP), G. van Otterloo (50PLUS), F. van Kooten-Arrissen, L. van Raan (PvdD) and H. Krol.

“The very broad support for the motion shows that for too long there has been great dissatisfaction in the Parliament how the successive governments have dealt with the Armenian Genocide.

The motion's message is that a clear language is needed to resolve precarious issues in the future. The FAON considers this idea especially important, given the current situation, in which Genocide Watch warned of a new genocide during the war in Nagorno Karabakh, and after the war both Turkey and Azerbaijan are aggressive towards Armenia.

The FAON assumes that the government will not disregard this very clear statement of the Parliament and will implement it.

In earlier motions, the Parliament explicitly recognized the Armenian Genocide, after the Dutch Parliament had already recognised it in 2004 in the motion by MP Rouvoet adopted unanimously, which appeals to the government “to expressly and continuously raise the recognition of the Armenian Genocide during the bilateral and EU dialogue with Turkey”.

As it is known, other Christian minorities, such as Assyrians, Arameans and Pontic Greeks, were also victims of the Armenian Genocide. In the same way as for Dutch people with an Armenian backgroud, also for people with these backgrounds, the government's failure to recognise the genocide has always been painful”, FAON said in a statement.

 11:48, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the war, the Armenian high-tech industry’s turnover grew 20,6% in 2020, the Minister of High Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyan said in a news conference.

Arshakyan reminded that nevertheless the pandemic and the war hindered some projects. “But the high tech sector had a double digit growth in 2020. Turnover of companies grew 20,6% and amounted around 198 billion drams,” he said. The number includes exclusively high tech industry companies and doesn’t include communication operators.

The number of employees working in the sector grew 22%, reaching 18,747. The number of active companies also grew. 1228 active companies are operating in the high tech sector, and 192 new ones received certifications in 2020 and will benefit from the tax privileges defined by the ministry’s policy and law.

Speaking about startups of Armenian origin which operate scientific-research centers in Armenia, he said that these companies have attracted nearly 50 million dollars in investments in 2020, mostly from abroad. “This means that they created science-based products and companies in Armenia which were able to record the kind of results that became interesting for venture investors and other investors.

Taxes paid by high tech companies in 2020 grew 14%, surpassing 41 billion drams.

Arshakyan called on students seeking to obtain higher education to seek engineering professions, saying that this sector is growing rapidly in Armenia.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 18:35, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani media organized attacks against the Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan in the recent days with the involvement of also MPs, ARMENPRESS reports Arman Tatoyan informed.

‘’The attacks are accompanied by announcements on starting a process of releasing him from duty, extreme insults against him, threats and hatred.

In addition, the Human Rights Defender received threats also by personal messages.

Those attacks are connected with the Defender's statements related to human rights violations in the process of determining the borders of the Republic of Armenia, the appearance of Azerbaijani soldiers (flags and signs) in the Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijani provocations against civilians.

Moreover, the statements of the Defender are openly falsified, after which they are subjected to manipulative speculations.

For example, the Human Rights Defender speaks about the inadmissibility of the presence of Azerbaijani servicemen, flags and placards in Syunik, he speaks about Azerbaijani war crimes, threats of war, ethic cleansings and state-sponsored Armeniaphobia, while the Azerbaijani media presents this as ‘’hysteria’’, ‘’so-called Syunik’’.

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia considers absolutely condemnable these manipulative attacks of the Azerbaijani media, which are carried out with the participation of politicians, personal correspondence and falsify the real statements of the Defender, provoke new hostility and hatred against Armenians.