Month: November 2023

 13:34, 22 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Iraq is an important and trusted partner for Armenia in the Middle East, President Vahagn Khachaturyan told President of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid in Yerevan at a joint press conference.

“Your visit is indeed a historic one, because you are the first Iraqi president to pay an official visit to Armenia since the establishment of diplomatic relations. I am sure that your visit will open a new chapter in the Armenian-Iraqi relations, and will intensify the multi-sectoral cooperation between the friendly states,” Khachaturyan said.

President Khachaturyan was pleased to note that Armenia’s relations with Arab countries have been developing in an atmosphere of mutual trust and warm friendship ever since Armenia regained independence.

“Bilateral agenda is rather comprehensive and includes numerous areas of cooperation, from trade and economic relations up to educational-cultural, humanitarian and information technologies,” the Armenian President said, adding that the rich past of Armenian-Arab historic-cultural interactions and the presence of the Armenian community in Iraq with a history of centuries are the solid foundation for dynamic development of relations.

“The Armenian nation is grateful to the friendly people of Iraq, especially for receiving the Armenian Genocide survivors and giving them shelter,” Khachaturyan said, thanking the Iraqi government for its caring attitude towards the Armenian-Iraqis. “Iraq is an important and trusted partner for Armenia in the Middle East.”

He added that Armenia is greatly interested in developing the bilateral agenda with Iraq, especially in the trade-economic area.

“We had productive talks with Mr. President Abdul Latif Rashid, during which we discussed a number of issues of mutual interest,” Khachaturyan said.

The presidents expressed certainty that trade volumes can be increased. They also attached importance to the Armenian-Iraqi intergovernmental meeting on economic cooperation that was held in September in Baghdad.

The presidents also discussed cooperation in areas such as agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure development, food and light industry, education, science and culture.

Cooperation in high technologies and digitization was highlighted. “In this regard I said that Armenia is ready to convey to the Iraqi side its successful experience of many years in this sector,” the Armenian President said.

The Armenian and Iraqi Presidents reiterated mutual readiness to strengthen interstate relations.

 13:49, 22 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. President Vahagn Khachaturyan said he presented to his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Latif Rashid the Crossroads of Peace project at their meeting on November 22 in Yerevan. 

Speaking at a joint press conference with the Iraqi president, the Armenian president said they discussed issues of partnership around regional and international matters.

“We emphasized the need for dialogue around regional security environment and joining efforts in conditions of the processes taking place in the international arena and the resulting challenges. I presented to my respected counterpart the Crossroads of Peace project developed by the Armenian government,” Khachaturyan said.

He said that Armenia is interested in the unblocking of regional economic and transport connections based on the principles of sovereignty, equality, jurisdiction and reciprocity.

During the meeting the presidents also attached importance to strengthening cooperation as part of fighting all manifestations of international terrorism, and making joint efforts aimed at countering illegal migration.

The Crossroads of Peace project is about creating new infrastructures or improving the scope and quality of the existing ones. Armenia is ready to establish five checkpoints on the Armenia-Azerbaijan borders for road infrastructures including in Kayan, Sotk, near Karahunj, near Angeghakot , and Yeraskh. Also, to establish two checkpoints on the Armenia-Turkiye border in Akhurik and Margara for road infrastructures. Armenia is prepared to ensure communications between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkiye, by restoring four railway sections in the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Armenia is ready to restore the Nrnadzor-Agarak railway section and to establish checkpoints near the borders, to restore the railway section from Yeraskh to the border of Nakhchivan and to establish a checkpoint in Yeraskh, to restore the depleted parts of the railway from Gyumri to the border of Turkiye and to establish a checkpoint in Akhurik. Also, Armenia is prepared to restore the depleted parts of railway from Hrazdan to Kayan and to establish a checkpoint in Kayan. This will create new links between all the countries of the region. The principles of the Crossroads of Peace are: all infrastructures including roads, railways, airways, pipelines, cables and power lines operate under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass; each country, through its state institutions, in its territory ensures border control, customs control and security of the infrastructures, including the passage through its territory of vehicles, cargo and people; All infrastructures can be used for both international and domestic transportation; countries use all the infrastructures on the basis of reciprocity and equality, and in accordance with these principles border and customs controls can be facilitated through mutual consent and agreement. As missing sections of railways and roads are restored and infrastructures unlocked, it will become possible to establish a seamless connection between the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea via a consolidated, regional railway network and via the North-South and East-West roads. The Government of the Republic of Armenia reaffirms its commitment to contribute its share to the region’s peace and stability, and to make practical measures to build the Crossroads of Peace.

 14:08, 22 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Germany’s Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Niels Annen, has said that Germany appreciates the Crossroads of Peace project proposed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Speaking at a press briefing after the Armenian-German intergovernmental session in Yerevan, Annen said that Armenia has made much effort to improve its investment environment.

“Many discussions are taking place on the government level. But some business associations from Germany are also involved in these talks. Everyone in Germany understands and sees that numerous efforts have been made in improving Armenia’s investment environment. We’ve seen progress in Armenia particularly in the fight against corruption and we will make additional investments in this direction to maintain and further develop what has been achieved so far,” he said.

“There are challenges in the region. And taking into account the general environment in the region, allow me to emphasize that any investment in the direction of improving the environment must be made through overcoming the problems in the region. We highly appreciate the Crossroads of Peace idea proposed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which will give many opportunities in this regard. We will once again present this to German businesses, and we hope that by taking into account the environment they will increase or continue their investments,” the German official added.

 09:46, 23 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan has spoken via videocall with India’s Minister of New and Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh.

Sanosyan underscored that the Armenia-India relations have been rapidly developing in the recent period, the ministry said in a readout.

Gnel Sanosyan attached importance to the fact that Armenia recently joined the International Solar Alliance and expressed hope that the relations will develop rapidly within this framework as well.

Issues related to bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the energy sector were discussed.

Minister Sanosyan attached importance to the participation of Indian companies in building, rebuilding and modernization projects of Armenian energy infrastructures.

Mutual visits of professional teams to Armenia and India for exchange of experience and capacity-building was highlighted.

 09:50, 23 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. It is not a secret that the state plays a key role in development and funding of science. The development of science in line with the world is a strategic and agenda issue for Armenia, which is being discussed for years and it is possible to develop the field only through investments.

According to 2023 state budget, the funding of science increased by 155% compared to 2018, and by 21% compared to 2022. It should be mentioned that the science expenses in 2022 amounted to AMD 24 bln and 957 mln. In 2021 more amounts were allocated from the state budget for the re-equipment of scientific equipment centers than in the previous 10 years taken as a whole. Till 2025, it is intended to double, in some cases triple the salaries of more than 3,357 scientists with the introduction of certification systems.

In recent years, mailnly the development of several directions plays a crucial role in the strategy of science development. The directions include: modernization of scientific infrastructures, scientific and scientific and technical theme, creation of centers of excellence for joint use in the field of science within the framework of EU-supported grant programs.

The Chairman of ARMECONOMBANK OJSC Board Saribek Sukiasyan reffered to the role of the state in the field of science development in an interview with lragir.am website in 2022. "This is not an area where we can justify savings." The solutions raised a decade ago are relevant even nowadays.

“As to me, the minimum threshold for science financing, should be at least in the amount of 1% of the GDP,– noted Saribek Sukiasyan and explained that the lower threshold of science funding relative to GDP is a national security issue.  The low indicators of financing will definitely be noticeable . "In science, there is an almost elimination of applied science, aging of scientists. The situation can be fixed only with the strong intervention of the state".

Saribek Sukiasyan considered the development of the scientific field to be the result of comprehensive interaction between the public and private sectors "In line with ensuring the specified funding threshold of at least 1% of the GDP, it is desirable that the state discuss the issue with representatives of the private sector and give clear guarantees that private sector investments will be protected by the appropriate legal framework. In such case the private sector will be keenly interested in investing in science”.

At the same time, while presenting his considerations in science, Sukiasyan highlighted the following. “All the scientific programs submitted for funding must undergo international expertise along with local expertise. I consider it necessary to adopt the law “On Scientific Expertise”, which will enable to carry out the appropriate expertise in abroad. With the adoption of this law, the state will guarantee that the expertise is fair."

The Chairman of ARMECONOMBANK OJSC Board also evaluated the efforts of scientists, overcoming difficulties for years and moved a step forward to the international arena  “Armenian representatives of exact science, despite the difficult conditions for them, are quite active in the international arena, many of them are published in prestigious international periodicals, – it should be noted that in the recent years, the representation of the Armenian scientific potential on international platforms is also one of the axes of the state policy, because, for example, the publication of scientific monographs was one of the funded directions.

Nevertheless,  Sukiasyan pointed out that it is necessary that the state stays focused on some branches of economy bringing them out of isolation. "Many candidate and doctoral theses are defended every year in the fields of economics, but most of those who defend them do not know that there are international periodicals, they do not know on level they are, let's say, international economic thought. According to Saribek Sukiasyan, it is necessary to encourage the integration of our economics into the international scientific flow, establish awards, and create a competitive environment”.