Month: November 2023

 10:16, 8 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. A magnitude 5,4 earthquake that struck some 21km south-east from the Iranian city of Parsabad near the Iranian-Azeri border at 09:18, November 8 was also felt in several Armenian towns in the country’s south, the seismic protection agency of the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The quake was felt in the towns of Kajaran, Meghri and Goris at an intensity of MSK 3-4, in Sisian at MSK 3, and in Yeghegnadzor at MSK 2.

 10:51, 8 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. South Korea plans to open an embassy in Armenia, Korea JoongAng Daily reports citing the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan earlier said that Armenia wants to establish a resident diplomatic representation in Seoul.

South Korea has in turn notified Armenia that it intends to establish a resident embassy in Yerevan in the first half of next year, Mirzoyan said.

 10:56, 8 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Authorities will amend the 2024 state budget draft to include the expenditures covering the pensions and benefits of the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh, which will increase pension expenditures by approximately 30 billion drams, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan told lawmakers at a parliamentary committee hearing on next year’s budget.

The expenditures related to the forcibly displaced persons of NK are not included in the draft budget because the document was approved by the government in September.

“We didn’t have time to draft new projects during those days. We didn’t have a clear picture on the number of persons and the situation,” the minister said.

The bill on amending the pension law will be approved by the Cabinet on November 9 and then sent to parliament. This will enable the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to pay pensions to pensioners forcibly displaced from NK.

 11:18, 8 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. 41% of capital expenditures envisaged in the 2024 state budget will be directed to the defense sector, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan has said.

The 2024 budget envisages 710 billion drams in capital expenditures.

“41% of capital expenditures will be directed to the defense sector,” the minister told lawmakers during a parliamentary committee hearing on the 2024 budget.

555 billion drams will be allocated to the defense sector, which is 7% more than in 2023.

“Defense expenditures will amount to 5,3% in the GDP,” Hovhannisyan said.

 11:38, 8 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The financial-credit and budgetary affairs committee of parliament has approved the Pashinyan Administration’s 2024 state budget draft.

The policy and approach is aimed at properly implementing the government action plan, finance minister Vahe Hovhannisyan told lawmakers.

“The school building program has the most important place in this budget. Naturally, we must implement all expenditures and actions in a way for it to increase the economic potential of Armenia, in order to be able to ensure higher economic growth in the future, at the same time maintain fiscal stability, keep the level of debt manageable and do everything to keep the debt below 50%,” he said.

The deficit is projected at 3,2 billion drams.

“But given the demand of additional expenditures and expected projects, we have planned that the entire amount that was previously directed as support to Nagorno-Karabakh, 144 billion drams, will come up from the deficit and appear in our expenditures as support to our compatriots. As a result, next year we will have 4,6% deficit,” the minister added. He said that this won’t have signiciant impact on the fiscal situation. The money that was previously being allocated as a loan will now be released as expenditure, implemented by Armenia.

The 2024 budget envisages 2 trillion 566 billion drams in tax revenues. Hovhannisyan said that his number will likely grow.

Current expenditures will amount to 2 trillion 321 billion drams, while capital expenditures will amount to 710 billion drams.

The budget draft received 4 votes in favor and one vote against in the committee. It will now be debated in the plenary session of parliament.

 12:44, 8 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received on Wednesday Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State at the UAE Foreign Ministry responsible for trade and economic affairs.

Prime Minister Pashinyan welcomed the Emirati delegation’s visit to Armenia and stressed the importance of implementing joint steps in the direction of developing and enhancing bilateral trade-economic ties, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout.

Pashinyan said that bilateral partnership has been of dynamic nature in the recent period.

Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh said he’s had productive discussions with Armenian officials and outlined directions of expanding cooperation and possible projects.

Other issues pertaining to the relations of the two countries and topics of mutual interest were also discussed.

 13:01, 8 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues to be a ‘priority’ for the United States, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel has said.

He said the U.S. is still ready to host the next round of Armenian-Azeri peace talks.

“Of course,” Patel said at a press briefing when asked whether Washington is still an option for the next round of the negotiations. “Outside of everything that of course is going on in the world that often sometimes takes up a lot of the oxygen in this room, peace between those two countries continues to be a priority for us, for Secretary Blinken, and it’s something that the department will continue to engage towards,” Patel added.

 13:20, 8 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Idram and IDBank summarize the October program of the "The power of one dram" initiative. During the previous month, the entire amount collected from the "one drams" transferred for each payment made by the Bank and Idram customers, the sum of which is AMD 3,580,216, was transferred to the "Hayordi" initiative.

In early October, as a result of the developments in Nagorno-Karabakh (NK), “Hayordi” took under its roof about 110 of Armenians forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and provided them with basic necessities, in order to slightly alleviate their situation.

The next program of "The power of one dram" is also dedicated to compatriots forcibly displaced from NK. During November, the accumulated amount from all payments made through the Idram and IDBank platforms will be transferred to the construction of greenhouses in Syunik for displaced NK citizens. As a result of the recent developments in NK, more than 100,000 residents were forced to leave NK.

More than 5,000 of them found their new home in Syunik region. The goal of this project is to build greenhouses for 50 families living in Syunik region and change the lives of at least fifty families. The program is presented on the ReArmenia platform, with which Idram and IDBank signed a memorandum of cooperation a year ago.

Artak Grigoryan, operational director of the ReArmenia platform, said: "Many times we have witnessed the impact of “The power of one dram” by supporting important and good works in various fields. Today, all our attention is focused on integrating our compatriots from Artsakh [NK] and putting their lives on a solid foundation. We are glad that "The power of one dram" will support the project of providing greenhouses to the residents of Artsakh [NK] in Syunik this month. The project will allow Artsakh [NK] residents settled in rural communities to be self-sufficient and, to a certain extent, survive the latest disaster. The project will allow the people of Artsakh [NK] settled in rural communities to be provided with a stable source of income and to get back on their feet after the last disaster. I am confident that this cooperation will prove the effectiveness of joint and coordinated actions.”

You can also join this initiative by becoming a goodwill ambassador. For that, you just need to make all your payments through Idram and Bank platforms.

COMPANIES ARE CONTROLLED BY THE CBA

 13:34, 8 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan held a meeting on November 8 with US Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Louis Bono.

Grigoryan and Bono discussed the efforts aimed at establishing lasting peace and stability in the region and the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process, Grigoryan’s office said in a readout. Grigoryan presented the position of Armenia in this context.

Other issues of bilateral interest were also discussed.