Month: October 2021

 17:13, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Following the adoption of the Long-Term Strategy for the period of 2021-2030 earlier this year, the Board of Governors of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) at its extraordinary meeting today decided to increase the subscribed capital of BSTDB from the current EUR 2.29 billion to EUR 3.10 billion, the BSTDB said in a press release.

The new subscription follows the increase in the BSTDB authorized capital approved in 2007 and the first round of subscription decided in 2008 and completed in 2018. The subscription covers 70% of the available authorized but unsubscribed capital and leaves unsubscribed 10% of the total authorized BSTDB capital of EUR 3.45 billion, which will remain available, inter alia, for potential new shareholders. The paid-in portion of the newly subscribed capital will be 30%, with 70% callable – in line with the Bank’s current capital structure. As a result of the new subscription, the Bank will receive an additional capital of EUR 244.96 million, thus raising the paid-in capital held by the Bank to EUR 931.51 million. The subscribed capital increase will enable BSTDB to fulfill the strategic objectives set forth in the Long-Term Strategy for 2021-2030 to promote economic development and regional cooperation of Member States and strengthen the Bank’s response capacity in crisis situations while increasing its relevance to shareholders. The subscription process will be finalized by the end of September 2022, and the BSTDB shareholders will make the subscribed capital payments in eight installments during the period of 2023-2030.

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion. BSTDB is rated long-term “A-” by Standard and Poor’s, “A2” by Moody’s and “A+” by the Russian credit rating agency ACRA.

 17:18, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, 1 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 1 October, USD exchange rate up by 1.12 drams to 485.32 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.52 drams to 561.95 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 6.64 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 3.60 drams to 654.99 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 150.71 drams to 27193.6 drams. Silver price down by 11.68 drams to 335.86 drams. Platinum price down by 27.60 drams to 15026.07 drams.

 18:23, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan held a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

As ARMENPRESS was ifnormed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan congratulated Sergey Lavrov on the occasion of the State Duma elections.

The interlocutors discussed in detail issues related to the Armenian-Russian relations, as well as issues on the international and regional agenda. The importance of regular contacts at the high and top levels was emphasized.

The Armenian and Russian FMs referred to the results of the meeting between Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs in New York on September 23, as well as the meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs with the participation of the Co-chairs on September 24. Minister Mirzoyan reaffirms Armenia's readiness to resume the full process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs based on the known principles and elements.

The foreign ministers of the two countries highlighted the implementation of the agreements reached on November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021. In the context of addressing humanitarian issues, Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the need for repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages held in Azerbaijan.

In the context of the coordination of steps in the foreign policy sphere, the parties discussed cooperation within the UN, OSCE, CIS and CSTO, particularly with the consideration of Armenia's current chairmanship in the CSTO.

 18:58, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jakub Kulhánek, who are in Armenia on a working visit.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the continuous development of relations with the Czech Republic, noting that there is great unexploited potential for expanding cooperation.

Nikol Pashinyan expressed hope that as a result of Mr. Kulhánek’s visit, part of that unexploited potential will be realized. The Prime Minister thanked the Czech executive body for its support to the democratic reforms being implemented in Armenia within the framework of the European Union.

Jakub Kulhánek noted that the Czech Republic attaches great importance to the expansion of multilateral relations with Armenia, including in the trade and economic sphere. The Czech Foreign Minister noted that Czech businessmen are also included in his delegation, which will contribute to the deepening of bilateral business ties and the discussion and implementation of joint investment programs.

Nikol Pashinyan stressed the importance of the € 2.6 billion investment package to be provided to Armenia by the European Union and expressed confidence that the Governments of Armenia and the Czech Republic could closely cooperate in the programs envisaged within its framework.

The interlocutors also discussed the developments in the South Caucasus region. The Prime Minister referred to the trilateral statements signed by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan after the 44-day war and the implementation of their points, noting that the Azerbaijani side has not returned Armenian prisoners of war, hostages or other detainees despite its obligations to do so.  At the same time, Nikol Pashinyan stressed the need to withdraw the Azerbaijani armed forces from the sovereign territory of Armenia, reminding that the Armenian side had made a relevant proposal for a peaceful solution to that issue.

The Prime Minister added that the Armenian side supports the peace process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs’ format for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and welcomed the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the sidelines of the Minsk Group Co-chairs’ format in New York.

 19:12, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Defense Minister of Armenia Arshak Karapetyan received Ambassador of Iran to Armenia Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri. Iranian embassy's military attaché Colonel Bahman Sadeghin also participated in the meeting.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MoD Armenia, during the meeting the Armenian Defense Minister presented the regional situation, highlighting the role of Iran in ensuring the regional security.

The sides also discussed other issues related to the deepening of the Armenian-Iranian cooperation and regional issues.

 20:24, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan met on October 1 with Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jakub Kulhánek, who is in Armenia on a working visit. The meeting started in the format of a private conversation, followed by an expanded-format meeting.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, the Armenian FM expressed satisfaction with the high level of political dialogue with the Czech Republic and the format of consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries.

Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the importance of the Armenian-Czech Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation as an effective platform for practical discussions and outlining activities for fully realizing the existing potential in the trade and economic sphere. Renewable energy, financial and banking sector, tourism, agriculture and healthcare were pointed out as promising directions for the development of cooperation. In this context, the holding of the Armenian-Czech business forum in Yerevan on the same day was also discussed.

Ararat Mirzoyan noted that the Eastern Partnership is a key platform in the Armenia-EU relations, it is necessary to make efforts to further strengthen the cooperation based on inclusion, equality and shared values of the EaP.

In the context of regional stability and security issues, the sides exchanged views on the humanitarian situation in Artsakh resulted by the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression. Ararat Mirzoyan drew special attention to the issue of Armenian prisoners of war, civilian hostages being held in Azerbaijan, emphasizing the need for their immediate, unconditional repatriation.

The Armenian FM praised the Czech Republic's position on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, that is, support for the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

Minister Mirzoyan reaffirmed Armenia's readiness to resume the full process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on the basis of the well-known principles and elements.

At the end of the meeting Ararat Mirzoyan and Jakub Kulhánek made a joint statement for the press.

 21:12, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been arrested and remanded, ARMENPRESS reports, citing ‘’Ria Novosti’’, Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili said.

"Our law enforcement agencies had preliminary information about his movement from Ukraine to Georgia," Garibashvili said, without specifying where the former president was caught.

Garibashvili noted that the law enforcement agencies ‘’carried out the operation at a high level’’. According to Georgian media, Saakashvili has been taken to one of the prisons of Tbilisi.

Before being arrested, the former president had made a post on his Facebook page, predicting his arrest. “Most likely, I will be arrested soon in Tbilisi, but I want to say that you should not be afraid of anything, go to the elections tomorrow. Give your vote, and On October 3 we will all celebrate the victory. I have come to help you, we had no alternative. I'm not afraid of anything, I urge you not to be afraid either’’, Saakashvili had said before being arrested.

 09:49, 2 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting on October 1 at the Presidential Palace.

Issues relating to overcoming the external and domestic challenges, the government’s priorities and the programs envisaged by the 2022 state budget draft were discussed during the meeting, the President’s Office said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 11:24, 2 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Over 700,000 people in the United States died after contracting the novel coronavirus, TASS reports citing the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which relies on data provided by international organizations, federal and local authorities.

According to the university statistics, over 43.615 million of the novel coronavirus cases were registered up to date in the United States with the overall death toll hitting the number of 700,258.

The United States is currently in the top of the registered COVID-19 cases, which stand at over 44,443,400, while the death rate in the country exceeds 718,980.

The US ranked first in terms of reported coronavirus cases and deaths, caused by COVID-19 and is followed by India (over 33,789,390 reported cases) and Brazil (more than 21,445,650 registered cases).

 13:04, 2 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Today’s municipal elections in Georgia are a test for democracy, EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell said, RIA Novosti reports.

“Today is an election day. It’s a unique day for every democratic country. I hope and believe that today the voters will be able to participate in the elections in calm and peaceful environment. It’s an important day for Georgia’s future and is a test for democracy”, the EU Ambassador said.

Georgia is holding municipal elections today. 16 candidates are running for the mayor of the capital Tbilisi.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan