Month: June 2022

 12:16, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. From now on thanks to Ucom, all the exhibition halls of the Komitas Museum-Institute will be provided with the high-speed internet access. The Komitas Museum-Institute, in cooperation with Ucom, has created an opportunity to reinterpret the areas for exhibitions, concerts and other programs as an educational and cultural environment through the use of modern technologies. 

Nikolay Kostandyan, the director at the Museum-Institute noted: "Thanks to the cooperation with Ucom it is now possible to provide internet access to the scientific-educational, cultural programs and concerts, moreover, we can use multimedia means during presentations and hence expand the formats of informative access to the exhibitions".

“Taking into account the growing digitalization of world-class exhibitions, we are not left out of the application of such an experience in Armenia, and hence we are glad to cooperate with the Komitas Museum-Institute in particular. Providing information about the outstanding representatives of the Armenian culture to visitors should be delivered in a much more interesting and dynamic way”, said Ara Khachatryan, Director General at Ucom. 

Komitas Museum-Institute officially opened its doors on January 29th, 2015 and has allowed for the appreciation of and continuation of Komitas’s legacy ever since. The Museum-Institute aims to present Komitas’s life and his various creative activities comprehensively, as well as raise public awareness of his multilateral impact on music.

 12:28, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. According to the decision of the Armenian government that came into force on April 16, the import of electric vehicles to the republic is duty-free. Tariff quota up to 6400 items has been set up. Previously, the customs duty rate of 15% was being applied, the State Revenue Committee said.

The SRC said that there are tariff privileges and quotas also for a number of other goods. For instance, in case of importing no more than 60,000 tons of white sugar to Armenia, a zero customs duty is applied.

In order to use the tariff quotas, a license is needed, which is issued by the ministry of economy according to the decision of the government. The deadline for the tariff quota is from March 28 to September 30.

 12:36, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan received today the delegation led by the European Union’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, the Office of the Security Council said.

During the meeting the sides discussed issues relating to the normalization of the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in this context Armen Grigoryan highly valued the role of the European Union.

The sides specifically touched upon the existing humanitarian problems, particularly the issue of repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and other persons held in Azerbaijan.

 13:29, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. The US Department of State published the 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom on June 2.

In the Azerbaijan section of the report, the State Department recalls the resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) relating to the humanitarian consequences of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, where PACE expressed its concerns about the future of the many Armenian churches, monasteries, including the Dadivank monastery, cross-stones and other forms of cultural heritage that came under the control of Azerbaijan.

The State Department report says that the Azerbaijani government has repeatedly denied access to the Armenian pilgrims to the Dadivank monastery. Azerbaijanis continued to be unable to visit many mosques and religious sites due to mine contamination from the fighting, it added.

The report recalls the PACE resolution which expressed "concern about a developing narrative in Azerbaijan promoting a ‘Caucasian Albanian’ heritage to replace what is seen as an ‘Armenian’ cultural heritage.”  

“There were numerous reports during the year of vandalism and destruction of Armenian cultural and religious sites, as well as deliberate actions by the government to sever and distort the connection of religious sites to their Armenian heritage”, the State Department said in the report.

 14:03, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Zurab Pololikashvili, who arrived in Armenia to attend the 67th meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Europe, the PM’s Office said.

Welcoming the visit of Zurab Pololikashvili’s delegation to Armenia and highlighting the fact that Armenia was elected member of the UNWTO Executive Council for 2021-2025, the Prime Minister said this will further boost the productive partnership. He said that tourism is the most affected branches of the economy from COVID-19, which is now at a recovery stage, and the government assists this process with different programs.

The UNWTO Secretary-General expressed gratitude to the Armenian side for the warm welcome and congratulated the Armenian PM on birthday, wishing good health and a productive work. He welcomed the Armenian government’s decision to hold the meeting in Yerevan, shared his impressions on the course of the event and the meetings held, assessing the session works as effective. Zurab Pololikashvili praised the recovery trends of tourism sector in Armenia and expressed readiness to deepen the partnership with the government of Armenia.

The sides discussed the prospects of expanding the cooperation in tourism sector. Both sides attached importance to the initiatives aimed at the development of tourism and agrotourism, improvement of infrastructure, implementation of programs directed to doing tourism business, as well as the empowerment of women entrepreneurship. The Prime Minister presented the government’s programs in these directions and highlighted the UNWTO consulting support in this context.

Views were exchanged also about the possibilities of holding an investment forum on tourism in Armenia next year, and agreement was reached to continue the active work towards the fulfillment of the cooperation agenda.

 14:23, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Mher Margaryan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations, delivered a statement in the UN Security Council open debate on “Strengthening Accountability and Justice for Serious Violations of International Law”, the Permanent Mission of Armenia said.

In his remarks Mher Margaryan touched upon the issue of impunity of crimes that happened in the past, in the context of prevention of genocides, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“Armenia alerted the international community about the level of hate speech and racist rhetoric dominating the political discourse in Azerbaijan, where state-led anti-Armenian policies extensively reported and documented by international institutions seek to dehumanize one particular nation which come to manifest that genocidal ideology does not merely belong to the past. The fact that a large-scale military aggression was unleashed amid the unprecedented global pandemic in the fall of 2020 is a crime of global proportion in itself and should be evaluated and addressed as such”, he said, also touching upon the fact that Azerbaijan is still holding Armenian prisoners of war and civilians in captivity.

“As the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice has a central role in ensuring justice and accountability and upholding the faith in international law”, he said.

[see video]

 14:40, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received European Union’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, the foreign ministry said.

During the meeting FM Mirzoyan presented Armenia’s position on the establishment of regional peace and stability and the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and in this context reaffirmed the importance of restoring the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

The sides discussed the implementation process of the agreements reached with the results of the Brussels meetings. Minister Mirzoyan stressed the impermissibility of comments made over the agreements that have nothing to do with the reality and emphasized the necessity of the rhetoric and practical steps for ensuring a constructive environment.

The sides exchanged views also on the activities of the commission on delimitation and border security between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the unblocking of economic and transportation infrastructure in the region.

Minister Mirzoyan considered unacceptable Azerbaijan’s continuous attempts to destabilize the situation in South Caucasus through militaristic statements and border provocations.

 14:41, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Turkey on June 8, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters at a briefing today.

Lavrov will meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss the bilateral relations, the economic cooperation amid the current sanctions against Russia.

Zakharova informed that the ministers will also exchange views on regional and international agenda-related issues.

“First of all, views will be exchanged on the current situation in Ukraine, as well as in Syria, Libya, Karabakh, Balkans, Central Asia and Afghanistan”, Zakharova said.

 14:49, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov will participate in the session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Yerevan on June 10, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing today, reminding that this year Armenia chairs at the CSTO.

The CSTO foreign ministers are expected to sign a consultation plan on foreign policy, defense and security for 2022-2024 based on the results of the session.

Maria Zakharova said that FM Lavrov will have a number of meetings in Yerevan on the sidelines of the session.

 14:54, 3 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) announced that Fly Arna, Armenia’s national airline a joint venture company between ANIF and Air Arabia Group, has received its Air Operating Certificate (AOC) and Air Operator License (AOL), which allow it to start operating from Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport.

“Securing the AOC and AOL highlight that Fly Arna has met all the professional capabilities, adheres to all safety regulations needed for aircraft operations and has proven fit-to-fly ability following the completion of rigorous inspections by the Civil Aviation Committee of the Republic of Armenia (CAC). Fly Arna will continue to work closely with the Civil Aviation Committee to finalize the launch date.

Thanks to the cooperation of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Republic of Armenia, the Fly Arna’s team successfully obtained the operating license on time after meeting all the required standards and passing all inspections. This important milestone will now allow the airline to start its operations and reflect the confidence of the Armenian aviation sector, its potential and the role that Fly Arna will play in supporting its long-term prospects.

Fly Arna has been assigned the reservation code G6 by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The carrier will use Airbus A320 aircraft and will follow the low-cost business model of Air Arabia”, ANIF said in a statement.