Month: June 2022

 13:21,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Scottish football fans arrived in Yerevan to watch the UEFA Nations League B league Group 1 match between Armenia and Scotland on June 14.

Speaking to ARMENPRESS, they said they are very impressed with the Armenian capital, called Armenia a very beautiful country, and its people – friendly and hospitable.

“Our expectations on Armenians are exceeded. We didn’t believe that the locals would be so hospitable and warm to us. Everyone shows positive attitude to us”, football fan Alan Mckillop said.

The Scottish tourists said they haven’t managed to see a lot in Armenia, but plan to visit some beautiful sites before the start of the match.

“We are going to tour around Yerevan’s Opera Theater. As we do not have enough time to see all the beautiful sites, we decided to visit the interesting structures and institutions that we will meet along the way”, Paul Doherty said.

The Scottish football fans believe that their national team will win this match. They say if their team wins, they will celebrate the victory with an Armenian beer.

 

 

 14:00,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met with Father Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha during the official visit, the PM’s Office said.

PM Pashinyan handed over the Order of Friendship of the Republic of Armenia to the Father Emir of Qatar for his significant services to the strengthening and development of political, economic, scientific, educational cooperation, cultural and religious mutual understanding and friendly ties between the two nations.

The Father Emir of Qatar thanked for the Order and stated that he will continue making maximum efforts to contribute to the further development of the relations between the two countries and peoples.

The Armenian PM and the Father Emir of Qatar also touched upon the development prospects of the relations between the two countries. They highlighted strengthening the intensive ties to make the Armenian-Qatari cooperation more multilateral.

Other issues of regional and international significance were also discussed.

 14:42,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Aurora’s Sunrise, a historical animated documentary film about the life of Aurora Mardiganian, will premiere at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France this week, the Zoryan Institute said in a statement.

“At only 14 years old, in 1915, Aurora faced the horrors of the Armenian Genocide. Within a year, witnessing the deaths of everyone in her family, Aurora had lost everything, and was sold into a Turkish harem. But with extraordinary courage and luck, she escaped to America, where her story became a sensation. 

The Zoryan Institute’s objective with this film is to bring to life the ZI’s Oral History Testimonies onto the big screen, through animated documentary films, to relay the stories of the Genocide survivors to the younger generations, especially of girls and to empower them, and  to represent their communities in the face of great adversity and violence. 

In 2015, during the year of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Zoryan Institute, signed a partnership agreement with Bars Media of Armenia to produce the animated documentary based on the testimony of A. Mardiganian. Aurora’s Sunrise was made possible with the academic contribution of the Zoryan Institute Armenia, based on its oral history archives (filmed by the Zoryan Institute on January 29, 1984). 

The film is directed by Inna Sahakyan. It is produced by Bars Media, led by Vardan Hovhannisyan, Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion&ArtboxLaisvalaikioKlubas, with the financial partnership of Eurimages, the Zoryan Institute Armenia & the National Cinema Center of Armenia, and with the contributions of the Lithuanian Film Center, ZDF/ARTE, Public TV Armenia, and LRT. 

The Zoryan Institute is thrilled that 40 years after the launch of the Armenian Genocide Oral History Project, which collected testimonies of survivors of the 1915 Genocide across 4 continents, the great-grandchildren of those who experienced the genocide are experiencing life before, during, and after the genocide through a film that seamlessly blends a mix of footage from the Zoryan Institute’s original live interview with Aurora and the brilliant animation of Bars Media and their German and Lithuanian co-producers, along with scenes from the 1919 silent film “Auction of Souls” (film starring Aurora Mardiganian prepared by Near East Relief). 

The world premiere of Aurora’s Sunrise, is taking place at the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France this week. Annecy is a week-long global festival that brings together the biggest names in animation to celebrate creative and diverse animation styles and techniques.

In addition to initial cost of the Oral History testimonies, Aurora’s Sunrise film had a budget of over USD $1,000,000.00, and is only the beginning of these invaluable stories of Armenian Genocide survivors”, the statement says.

 14:54,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. “Arabic messages from Armenia: Heritage for Cultural Dialogue” temporary exhibition opened in the National Library of Qatar on June 14 on the sidelines of the official visit of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his delegation in Doha, Armenpress correspondent reports.

9 duplicate samples from the numismatic and archeological collections of the History Museum of Armenia were displayed at the exhibition.

The exhibition posters presented cultural values and historical facts about the Armenian-Arab long-lasting relations.

The exhibition will remain open for a week.

 14:59,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. The Parliament of Armenia debated today the agreement about the use of military satellite communication systems and their further enhancement according to which Armenia will join the initiative of joint use of military satellite communication systems.

Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsyan presented the draft on ratifying the agreement during the Parliament’s session today.

“According to the draft, Armenia joins the initiative on the common use of military satellite communication systems, signed during the 2018 June 6 session of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers in Russia, aimed at creating an integrated system of the CIS military satellite communication based on the Russian military satellite communication system”, he said.

The use and further enhancement of military satellite communication systems are performed for the purpose of increase in reliability of management of armed forces of the State Parties of this agreement and the organization of bonds of interaction between them.

However, Armenia joins the agreement with one reservation that Armenia will make a separate decision over the spread of the provisions of the agreement to those states which will join the agreement.

The agreement has been signed by Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Moldova and Azerbaijan did not sign the agreement.

 15:07,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Silicon Mountains Tech Summit 2022 dedicated to digital transformation will launch in Yerevan’s Matenadaran on June 17.

During the summit Armenian officials, heads of ICT companies and foreign experts will discuss the importance of digital transformation and the use of digital solutions in different sectors.

The topics of this year’s summit are digital transformation, fintech and cybersecurity.

During a press conference today dedicated to the summit, President of the Union of Employers of Information and Communication Technologies (UEICT) Armen Baldryan said the focus will be on the relevant issues, such as the digitization strategy, the necessary infrastructure and security.

“We will talk about the most demanded topics – digital transformation, cybersecurity and fintech. Leaders, experts and speakers both from Armenia and abroad will take part. During the panel discussions the state officials of Armenia, the heads of leading ICT companies, specialists from the banking sector, as well as foreign and local experts will discuss the problems connected with digitization in Armenia, as well as the challenges, and also will share their experience”, he said.

UEICT Executive Director Eduard Musayelyan said the Union is organizing the Silicon Mountains tech summit together with its partners for already the third year. “We aim to position our country in the world as a technologically developed country offering engineering solutions, a country of highly qualified specialists. This year we are holding the event with the support of the Central Bank of Armenia, and it is dedicated to digital transformation. We attach great importance to this cooperation as the Union targets digitization and spread of ICT solutions in different branches of the economy”, he added.

Head of the Department of stability and regulation of financial system at the Central Bank of Armenia Garegin Gevorgyan said that capturing the leading position in the region through the formation of a modern financial system based on science and technologies is one of the key messages of the strategy of the Central Bank.

President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia Ashot Hovanesian believes that the digital transformation is not just the replacement of old tools with digital tools. “It supposes a comprehensive change in people’s way of thinking about the technology and its use”, he said.

Only invited participants could participate in the summit. It will be broadcast live.

 15:16,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenian-American molecular biologist, neuroscientist, and Nobel Prize laureate Ardem Patapoutian visited the Yerevan State Medical University’s “COBRAIN” Scientific-Educational Center for Fundamental Brain Research where he planted the seed of the plant from which he obtained the well-known molecule.

After touring the Center, Ardem Patapoutian delivered a lecture on “How do you feel? The molecules that sense touch” topic in the Yerevan State Medical University.

“One of the reasons of my visit to Armenia is to get acquainted with the developments in Armenia’s science sector. I expect to lay a foundation for a new cooperation. The government tries to increase the funding for science, research, which is one of the first key steps for the development of the sector. I hope that the young students, after seeing my example, will try to achieve better results”, he said.

YSMU Rector Armen Muradyan said that their cooperation with Mr. Patapoutian started back in 2016 when he delivered his first lecture on perception of touch.

 Ardem Patapoutian received a Nobel Prize for the discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.

Armenian FM presents situation in South Caucasus to Bulgaria’s President

 15:42,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. On June 14, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, who is in Bulgaria on an official visit, met with President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, the foreign ministry reports.

Congratulating each other on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Bulgaria the sides noted that during the past three decades the cooperation between two states has developed based on mutual trust and respect.

Ararat Mirzoyan and Rumen Radev touched upon the prospects of the development of the Armenian-Bulgarian relations, expressing mutual readiness to deepen the political dialogue between two countries, the cooperation in the spheres of trade and economy, transport, tourism, education. 

The interlocutors agreed that mutual visits, including at the highest levels, would promote the full realization of the existing potential for cooperation in the spheres of mutual interest. The role of the Armenian community in Bulgaria as an important bridge connecting the two countries was also highlighted.

Referring to the prospects of international cooperation within the sphere of transport infrastructure, the interlocutors emphasized the importance of the implementation of active works towards the establishment of the “Persian Gulf-Black Sea” transport corridor.

During the meeting a reference was also made to the issues of regional and international security. 

Minister Mirzoyan briefed the President of Bulgaria on the situation in the South Caucasian region, particularly the recent developments regarding the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the process of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Both sides stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved through exclusively peaceful negotiations. In this regard Minister Mirzoyan stressed the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in the lasting resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and highly valued the  balanced position of Bulgaria on the settlement of the conflict under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Among other urgent humanitarian issues, the need for repatriation of the Armenian prisoners of war and preservation of Armenian religious and historical-cultural heritage in Artsakh was stressed.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia presented the normalization process between Armenia and Turkey to the President of Bulgaria.

 16:01,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Newly-appointed Ambassador of Syria to Armenia Nora Arisian presented her credentials to President Vahagn Khachaturyan, the Presidential Office said.

“It’s a great honor for me to represent Syria in Armenia. I will make maximum efforts for the development of the bilateral relations for the benefit of the two friendly countries and peoples”, the Ambassador said.

Congratulating the Ambassador on assuming office, the Armenian President said that the Armenian-Syrian relations have been formed on historical friendly basis.

“I am confident that your diplomatic experience and knowledge will contribute to the development of the Armenian-Syrian relations”, the President said.

Both sides emphasized the necessity of giving a new content to the Armenian-Syrian multisectoral cooperation, including taking practical steps to develop new cultural and educational programs.

 16:14,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. The Board of the Central Bank of Armenia decided to keep the refinancing rate unchanged during today’s session, setting it at 9.25%, CBA Governor Martin Galstyan said at a press conference, stating that in May 2022, the 12-month inflation has increased, comprising 9.0%. The 12-month normal inflation has also increased, comprising 8.4%.

Martin Galstyan said that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict continues negatively impacting the economic and financial market developments of Armenia’s main partner countries.

“Continued disruptions of world value chains and constant increase in prices in international commodity markets lead to the expansion of global inflationary environment. The central banks of developed countries are announcing a tightening of a monetary-credit policy at relatively faster rates. Therefore, the inflationary impact from the external sector on Armenia’s economy is still maintained”, he said.

The CBA Governor said that the high activity of the Armenian economy is maintained in the second quarter of 2022. The major inflow of foreign visitors and the growth in domestic private spending contribute to the increase in services and the whole demand. This leads to the expansion of the overall inflationary environment and the increase in inflationary expectations. The major growth in export of Armenian services and the financial inflow contributes also to the devaluation of the dram in the exchange market. The latter is assessed to have a positive effect in easing the domestic inflationary environment.

“In such situation the Board finds it appropriate to keep the policy rate unchanged”, he said, adding: “It is forecast that the 12-month inflation will gradually decline and approach the targeted 4% in the medium-term horizon”.