Month: June 2022

 17:08,

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia Zareh Sinanyan met with the Armenian community structures, Armenian clergymen and Greek-Armenians on June 22 at the Embassy of Armenia in Greece, the Embassy said.

At the beginning of the meeting Armenian Ambassador to Greece Tigran Mkrtchyan presented the purpose of the visit of Zareh Sinanyan to Greece.

In his remarks Zareh Sinanyan introduced the activity of his Office. He highlighted the further development of the Armenia-Diaspora and Diaspora-Armenia relations, presented the strategy, the policy and ongoing programs being carried out by his Office, such as iGorts, Diaspora Youth Ambassador programs.

He also touched upon the programs of promoting repatriation, establishing business ties with Armenia, implementing and attracting investments.

Answering to the questions of the meeting participants, the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs also touched upon the internal and external challenges facing Armenia, as well as the regional developments.

 17:47,

Artashes Tumanyan, Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, received the delegation led by Carolin Geginat, Head of the World Bank Yerevan Office.

ARMENPRESS reports during the meeting, a number of issues related to government programs in the field of reservoir construction were discussed.

 18:00,

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia Victor Richter, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of relations with Germany, which is Armenia’s largest trade and economic partner among the EU countries, and expressed confidence that the high level political dialogue will further promote mutually beneficial cooperation.

Ambassador Richter noted that Germany is interested in developing cooperation with Armenia and reaffirms its support for Armenia’s democratic reforms.

The interlocutors discussed the prospects for deepening Armenian-German ties. Expressing satisfaction with the programs implemented within the framework of the bilateral agenda, Nikol Pashinyan considered intensive agriculture a promising direction. The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany welcomed the Prime Minister’s proposal and mentioned also the joint programs in the fields of SME, energy, water management, e-governance, finance and other spheres. The sides attaches importance to the activities of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Reconstruction Credit Institute (KfW) in Armenia.

During the meeting the sides also touched upon regional developments and work on unblocking the communication routes. PM Pashinyan and Ambassador Richter exchanged views on the situation in Nagorno Karabakh.

The Prime Minister presented Armenia’s positions on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the peace agenda announced by the Armenian Government. Nikol Pashinyan stressed that the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status remains unresolved, it should be settled within the framework of the internationally recognized format, under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. The Prime Minister touched upon the issues of the return of Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees still being held in Azerbaijan, the protection and preservation of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.

 18:39,

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Kristine Grigoryan delivered a video message during the discussion with the UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions within the framework of the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council, emphasizing that during and after the Nagorno Karabakh war the international response to the torture of the Armenian civilian population by Azerbaijani Armed Forces, even to the extremely brutal acts spread on the Internet, has been, to put it mildly, disproportionate and insufficient.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Human Rights Defender, in her statement the Defender highly appreciated the work of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions stressing the need for further strengthening the mandate and allocating more resources.

The Defender reflected on the response to torture, extrajudicial and summary executions of Armenian civilian captives and PoW during and after the 2020 hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh, which has been inadequate, and insufficient to say the least creating preconditions for extrajudicial and arbitrary executions in other ongoing conflicts. Summing-up the Speech, as a guarantee of effective implementation of the mandate the Defender stressed the imperative of visiting the regions and territories more by Special Rapporteur emphasizing the need for better understanding on the ground. Highlighting the role of national human rights institutions as a valuable partner to the Special Rapporteur, Defender Grigoryan expressed her willingness for partnership.

Concluding her speech, the Human Rights Defender stressed the imperative of the Special Rapporteur to pay more visits to the region, emphasizing the need to get acquainted with the situation on the ground as a guarantee of effective implementation of the mandate.

 19:02,

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. Fly Arna, Armenia’s national airline and a joint venture company between the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) and Air Arabia Group, celebrated the inaugural of its main office located on the Ground floor, Old VIP building at Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, ARMENPRESS was informed from Fly Arna.

This new office features an open environment, with employee lounges and break rooms as well as multiple meeting and conference rooms. This step follows the receival of Fly Arna’s first aircraft as well as the launch of the commercial schedule starting July 3rd, 2022.

Fly Arna’s flights are now open for sale and customers can book their flights by visiting Fly Arna’s website (www.flyarna.com), calling the call center (+374 41 38 00 83) or through travel agencies.

Inaugural flights will take off from Zvartnots International Airport to Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt starting from July 3, 2022. Fly Arna team is continuously working on expanding its network and will soon announce the new destinations the airline will operate to.

Fly Arna is Armenia’s national airline and a joint venture company between the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) and Air Arabia Group. Based in Zvartnots International Airport (EVN) in Yerevan, Fly Arna follows the successful low-cost business model operated by Air Arabia that focuses on offering comfort, reliability, and value-for-money air travel.

 20:12,

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. The delegation headed by the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Suren Papikyan left for Moscow to take part in the regular sitting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS member states to be held on June 24 in the Russian Federation, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Armenia.

Austria interested that people of Nagorno Karabakh live in favorable conditions. President of Federal Council of Austria

 20:40,

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. The delegation led by the President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan, who is in Austria on an official visit, was received by the President of the Federal Council of the Republic of Austria Christine Schwarz-Fuchs.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the National Assembly of Armenia, in a conversation with his colleague, the President of the National Assembly of Armenia noted that in recent years a positive dynamic of the development of bilateral relations has been observed in the political platform between Armenia and Austria: active reciprocal visits, meetings at the level of presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers have taken place.

He added that it is necessary to establish cooperation between the Armenian parliament and the upper house of the Austrian parliament, as parliamentary diplomacy plays a significant role in the Armenian-Austrian bilateral agenda at both the federal and decentralized levels.

Alen Simonyan reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment, together with its European partners, to expand and deepen the process of institutional reform aimed at further strengthening democracy, human rights and the rule of law. In this sense, according to Alen Simonyan, the entry into force of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement is a turning point, which will open new perspectives for the deepening of Armenia-EU cooperation.

Issues related to Armenia-EU visa liberalization, opening of the Austrian Embassy in Armenia, opening of Austrian visa services in Yerevan were discussed during the conversation.

Touching upon the 44-day war and the numerous problems that arose as a result, Alen Simonyan once again welcomed Austria’s efforts aimed at strengthening peace and stability in the region, creating an atmosphere of mutual trust, and developing regional cooperation.

The parties also touched upon the importance of the centuries-old Armenian community in Austria, which is a reliable bridge between the two countries. Christine Schwarz-Fuchs proudly emphasized Armenians’ great contribution to their country’s cultural, economic and political life.

At the end of the meeting the President of the Federal Council of Austria highlighted the visit of the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, noting that it will provide new opportunities for the expansion of inter-parliamentary cooperation between Armenia and Austria. “We are interested that people of Nagorno Karabakh live in favorable conditions. In this sense, you can consider Austria as a reliable partner”, President of the Federal Council of the Republic of Austria Christine Schwarz-Fuchs said.