Month: April 2026

Armenian food safety authorities have reacted to reports regarding the temporary suspension of Jermuk mineral water sales in Russia, saying they have not received any official notification from their Russian counterparts.

The Food Safety Inspection Agency of Armenia, responding to media reports that Russia has suspended the sale of an imported batch of the Armenian bottled water pending inspections, said in a statement that it is taking measures to clarify the situation.

“The Food Safety Inspection Agency of Armenia has not yet received any official information—such as a written notice—regarding the matter in question from the relevant Russian authorities, including either Rospotrebnadzor or Rosselkhoznadzor (the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of the Russian Federation).

Measures are being taken to clarify the situation and take appropriate action.

Russian authorities have suspended the sale of a batch of Armenian “Jermuk” carbonated mineral water in the country while inspections are carried out. According to the Russian RBC media outlet, around 338,000 bottles are affected.

The decision was made following a warning from Russia’s consumer safety watchdog (Rospotrebnadzor), which cited the need to prevent possible risks to consumer health and safety. The agency pointed to alleged “violations of mandatory requirements” as the reason for the suspension.

The ban applies to products manufactured between February 17, 2026, and March 2026.

There was no public comment from Jermuk Group immediately available.

Authorities have denied as “fabricated” a report by a local media outlet claiming that Armenia intends to hand over a village in the country’s north to Georgia during the delimitation process.

The delimitation process of the Armenia–Georgia international border has not been formally concluded, although Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has previously said the process would soon be finalized.

The report claimed that the village of Jiliza in Armenia’s Lori Province would be handed over to Georgia during the process.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s spokesperson, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, denied the claim as fake news.

“Some media outlets have circulated ‘information’ claiming that, within the framework of the delimitation process, an agreement has allegedly been reached under which Armenia would transfer the village of Jiliza in the Alaverdi Municipality.

Any statement, idea, or ‘information’ about the intention, plan, or agreement to transfer any part of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia to another country cannot correspond to reality by its very nature.

Therefore, as before, we deny, are denying, and will continue to deny any such publications, both now and in the future, due to their fabricated nature,” Baghdasaryan said on social media. 

Founder and CEO of Agile Robots SE, a German-based smart robotics company, Zhaopeng Chen, led a delegation to Armenia to explore future joint initiatives and collaboration with local engineering companies.

“We were pleased to host Agile Robots SE in Armenia, led by Zhaopeng Chen, CEO, founder,” said Hakob Arshakyan, the Vice Speaker of Parliament, describing the visit as a “valuable opportunity for dialogue” on the latest developments in AI and robotics.

Arshakyan is also the Chairman of the Armenian Innovation Foundation (AIF) and Executive Committee Chairman of the Council for Science and Technology Development.

“During the visit to American University of Armenia and the Engineering City – implemented by EIF, potential areas of collaboration and future joint initiatives were explored with the local engineering companies. In this context, an ARCS.ai program by Armenian Society of Fellows (ASOF) and Armenian Innovation Foundation was presented on April 10 to the Council for Science and Technology Development to the Prime Minister of Armenia, focusing on advancing robotics and artificial intelligence—particularly Physical AI—as one of the key frontiers of the next technological wave, building on Armenia’s strong educational and research foundation. Looking ahead, we are confident that these discussions will translate into cooperation and new opportunities in advanced technologies,” Arshakyan said in a statement on LinkedIn.

The visit was held alongside AI Conf Armenia, the largest conference on artificial intelligence (AI) in Armenia.

The leading Orbeli think tank has organized a roundtable discussion in Yerevan, bringing together government officials, experts, business representatives, and international participants to discuss regional connectivity and economic cooperation.

The roundtable titled “Regional Developments and the Prospects of the Crossroads of Peace Project” is organized by the Orbeli Center, affiliated with the Prime Minister’s Office Center for Public Relations and Information, with support from the Eurasian Bank.

Orbeli Center coordinator and historian Mikayel Yalanuzyan delivered opening remarks.

Member of Parliament Arman Yeghoyan from the ruling Civil Contract Party, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration Affairs, as well as Deputy Minister of Economy Edgar Zakaryan, also delivered remarks.

The speakers highlighted the development of regional connectivity and the Crossroads of Peace initiative as a key direction for Armenia’s economic development and cooperation.

The Armenian government’s Crossroads of Peace project is a major undertaking designed to establish connections 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 the North–South and East–West routes.

The Orbeli Center for Analytical Research, a leading Armenian think tank affiliated with the Public Relations and Information Center of the Prime Minister’s Office, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), a prominent UAE research center.

The purpose of the memorandum is to promote cooperation in the field of research and analytical activities, as well as to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise.

Under the memorandum, the parties plan to cooperate in the following areas: conducting joint research and preparing analytical materials, organizing expert discussions, roundtables and conferences, exchanging information and experience, and developing the capacities of young researchers.

Green Rock has been awarded a Gold Winner at the 5th edition of the International Architecture & Design Awards (IADA), organised by the Architecture & Design Community (ADC), a globally recognised platform celebrating excellence in design and architecture.

This year’s edition brought together a diverse pool of entries from 53 countries, with more than 500 projects shortlisted. In line with the evolving landscape of the industry, the 2026 awards also introduced new categories dedicated to artificial intelligence, underscoring its growing role in shaping the future of architecture and design.

All projects were evaluated by an international jury of leading practitioners, known for their creative work, critical approach, and contribution to the global design discourse.

Gold Winner Award — Dilijan Multifunctional Complex

Green Rock’s winning project, the Dilijan Multifunctional Complex, is conceived as a “city within a city” — a distributed, mixed-use ecosystem embedded in the fabric of Dilijan. Bringing together hospitality, culture, gastronomy, retail, and public spaces, the project creates a layered, year-round destination for both residents and visitors. At its core are a 210-room hotel and a 600-seat music hall, complemented by a hospitality school and educational programmes, as well as cafés, Art park areas, a cinema, and coworking spaces.

Rather than functioning as a single destination, the development is designed as a network of interconnected nodes, encouraging movement across the city and extending activity beyond traditional tourist zones. The project aims to diversify tourism by reducing seasonality, create long-term employment opportunities, and position Dilijan as a cultural and tourism hub not only within Armenia, but across the wider region.

Set within a protected national park, Dilijan presents a unique set of environmental and morphological constraints. Green Rock’s architectural response is grounded in sensitivity to this context, using terraced typologies, minimising land disturbance, and drawing on materials that reflect the local architectural language.

Sustainability has been embedded from the earliest design stages, supported by BIM-based coordination, value engineering, and resilient construction strategies.

Notably, the community hub building has achieved a preliminary EDGE assessment indicating approximately 35% energy savings, 30% water savings, and a 39% reduction in embodied carbon — a reflection of the project’s long-term environmental commitment.

About IADA

The International Architecture & Design Awards (IADA) is an annual global competition recognising excellence across architecture, interior design, product design, communication design, landscape, web, and AI-related fields. Organised by the Architecture & Design Community (ADC), IADA brings together a global network of architects and designers committed to thoughtful, responsible, and forward-looking design practices.

About Green Rock

Green Rock is a development company focused on shaping Dilijan into a dynamic centre for culture, tourism, and sustainable growth. By integrating hospitality, education, art, and green technologies, the company contributes to local economic development while creating meaningful, lasting value for both the community and its visitors.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday that science is a key part of Armenia’s development strategy and should be closely integrated with education and the economy. He said that the scientific community should have greater participation and presence in policy-making processes.

Speaking at the “Armenian Science in the Global Research Landscape: Competitiveness, Scientific Excellence, and the Realization of Scientific Output in the Economy” roundtable organized by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), he emphasized that science is not something his administration merely “supports,” but an essential part of state policy and national progress, especially for economic growth.

Pashinyan thanked the NAS for organizing the discussion and emphasized the importance of such meetings in shaping the government’s future policies aimed at developing the science sector.

“I believe that having discussions around programs and implementing them is a necessary but not sufficient condition, because there must be a periodic exchange of ideas about the current state and developments in the field. This also contributes to refining those ideas,” Pashinyan was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Prime Minister noted that compared to 2017, by 2025 science funding has increased by about 2.8 times, or 185 percent, while salaries in the science sector have seen a significant rise, up to 300 percent.

“The first thing is that our thinking and linguistic worldview must change. In this regard, I must also admit that it strikes my ear when it is said that the government supports science. This creates a kind of distance between the government and science. We do not support science; the development of science is our policy. In other words, we do not see the state, the government, and science as something existing at a distance that we need to support. The development of science is our policy, and this has a very concrete and tangible reason: we cannot imagine the development of the state without the development of science. And on the other hand, we cannot imagine the development of science without the development of education. But I also want to say that when we talk about the development of the state, we primarily mean the development of the economy,” the Prime Minister emphasized, adding that science and the scientific community should have greater participation and presence in policy-making processes.

He further emphasized that science is part of the economy, because managing science, properly allocating resources to it, and perceiving it as an economic sector is a very important tool that helps solve numerous problems. Pashinyan highlighted the development of science as crucial in the context of not only preserving but also further developing national identity and better “understanding ourselves.”

According to the Prime Minister, one of the major challenges is connecting all localized sectors and understanding that “we are dealing with a cycle, because in the Republic of Armenia there is no such thing as a separate district, a separate village, or even a separate sector.”

“We do not see science as a separate sector, let alone separate fields within science. It is very important that we unite our sectors and our country around one goal. And that goal is the Republic of Armenia, the development of our state. But the state, as I have said before, is both a goal and a means. It is a goal by its very existence, and it is a means because it is the only tool that can ensure the best conditions for preserving and developing our identity, security, freedom, prosperity, and happiness,” he said.

In conclusion, Pashinyan stated: “Of course, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia must love their state, and this is a very important and fundamental factor, but at the same time, the Republic of Armenia must love its citizens, including those engaged in scientific activities across all professions. And the policies we pursue are an _expression_ of that love—the Republic of Armenia’s _expression_ of love toward all people engaged in science.”

Authorities said on Tuesday that there is no full shortage of liquefied gas in the country, but some individual filling stations could experience temporary supply interruptions due to logistical issues affecting imports.

The Ministry of Economy issued a statement regarding media reports about the situation, amid a 50% increase in liquefied gas prices over the past couple of weeks.

“Due to congestion at the Lars checkpoint and temporary logistical difficulties, the entry of some trucks transporting liquefied gas into Armenia has been delayed, affecting the normal rhythm of market supply. This is not a full shortage, but temporary supply disruptions may occur at certain filling stations,” the Ministry of Economy said in a statement.

Upper Lars, or simply the Lars checkpoint, is a crossing point on the Russia–Georgia border used extensively by Armenian shippers for transit.

The ministry said the government is taking measures to address the issue and stabilize prices.

“Relevant state bodies are in constant contact with importing companies and partner organizations to resolve the situation as quickly as possible and restore normal market supply,” it said.

“Prices may be affected not only by logistical difficulties but also by fluctuations in international markets driven by regional developments. At the same time, the market is under continuous monitoring, and the authorities are tracking the situation to prevent unjustified price increases and possible speculative behavior. Citizens are urged not to engage in panic buying and to rely only on official information. Efforts to stabilize the situation are underway.”

The Government of Armenia, with support from Germany and Switzerland, has launched a new initiative to expand youth engagement in participatory budgeting and other civic decision-making processes.

Within the framework of the newly launched program, it is planned to promote meaningful and impactful youth participation in governance and decision-making processes, including participatory budgeting and other civic engagement mechanisms.

The event marking the launch of the project was attended by Arayik Harutyunyan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan; Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arthur Martirosyan; Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Armenia Lars Hennig; and other officials.

Addressing the young participants at the event, Harutyunyan said that significant work had been done toward the implementation of the program and that the Government of Armenia places great importance on it.

“We often speak about reforms, but we must admit that they do not always deliver the results citizens expect. Why is that? Because changing laws is easy, but changing mentality, culture, and behavior is much more difficult. We have understood an important fact: without real public participation and engagement, even the best program can remain only on paper. This is where your role, dear young people, becomes crucial and decisive. We do not see you as the workforce of tomorrow—you are the active participants of today. Your education, innovative thinking, and even your critical perspective are what the state system needs to become more effective and goal-oriented. And it is precisely participatory governance mechanisms that can turn this potential into concrete results,” Harutyunyan said.

According to Harutyunyan, the program gives citizens the opportunity to become real participants in decision-making processes, while enabling state bodies to respond more accurately to public needs.

“In communities, we have succeeded in implementing participatory budgeting, which I believe is one of our best achievements in recent years, and it is not merely a financial tool. It is a bridge of trust between the citizen and the state. When you take part in decision-making, you become the owner of that decision. We want to create an Armenia where you do not just witness change, but are the very authors of that change,” said Harutyunyan, calling on young people to make use of the platform.

Minister Khudatyan also noted that, for example, in 2021, Armenian citizens—particularly young people—showed relatively little interest in governance processes, and he highlighted the significant changes that have taken place since.

“Five years later, I can see that we have been able to ensure significant changes in terms of citizen participation, including participation in local self-government activities. Initially, Armenian communities implemented participatory budgeting programs without financial support from the government, and in the first year, this line was included only in community budgets. When we realized that the program was progressing successfully, the Government of Armenia allocated 500 million drams in the first year for four communities, later 1 billion drams, then 2 billion drams, and now we have dozens of communities involved in this process,” said Davit Khudatyan.

He emphasized that, by instruction of Prime Minister Pashinyan, the participatory budgeting program should become one of the largest initiatives aimed at developing community infrastructure.

“We are planning in the near future to gradually direct the main financial component from the Government to the participatory budgeting program, based on the simple logic that this is a targeted program. In other words, it implements specific infrastructure development measures selected by citizens and of public interest. The Government of Armenia is interested in the successful implementation of the program and in promoting youth participation. In the near future, we will also be able to implement larger programs with a wider geographic scope,” noted the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure.

Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arthur Martirosyan also emphasized the importance of implementing the program and youth participation in decision-making.

“The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport will unequivocally support increasing participation, and I believe that the network of youth centers established across Armenia will become a platform for bringing these programs to life and leading them forward,” he said.

Germany’s Deputy Head of Mission Lars Hennig also delivered remarks, noting that, in general, a significant number of young people worldwide feel that they are operating without authority, seeing themselves as highly individualistic and not responsible to society. According to him, this is not a specifically Armenian phenomenon, but one that exists across the Western world, including Germany.

“Democratic systems must address this challenge. I believe the best place to start is with budgetary processes at the local level. Such inclusion can build trust and responsibility that is sometimes lacking. I believe this cooperation highlights that our shared responsibility is to encourage civic engagement and promote citizen participation in decision-making, as well as to overcome the challenge I mentioned,” he said.

The aim of the launch meeting was to form a general understanding of the goals, scope, and expected outcomes of the initiative. The program is being launched by the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia in cooperation with the GIZ. 

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan convened a meeting of the country’s diplomatic representatives in Europe in Paris on Sunday to discuss Armenia’s relations with the European Union, regional developments, and upcoming high-level international events.

During the meeting, Mirzoyan announced that in one week Armenia and France will sign a long-negotiated new cooperation agreement.

“The last time we all met, of course in a broader format, was at the end of August. Since then, many developments have taken place, particularly in Europe and in Armenia’s relations with the European Union and individual countries. Strategic cooperation is being discussed with many states. In a week, we will also see the signing of a long-negotiated document with France.

Prior to that, in recent months, this has already taken place with several countries, for example Germany. Of course, the names of the documents differ slightly from one to another: in some cases it is the establishment of a strategic partnership, in others it is a strategic agenda for cooperation. For example, with the European Union we signed a ‘Strategic Agenda for Partnership,’ and so on,” he said.

Minister Mirzoyan also spoke about the high-level events scheduled to take place in Yerevan on May 4–6, including the European Political Community summit, the first-ever EU–Armenia summit, and the “Yerevan Dialogue” forum.

Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan, who coordinates relations with European countries, presented the main agenda items of the EPC and EU–Armenia summits, as well as the documents expected to be signed.

Foreign Ministry Secretary General Davit Karapetyan briefed the ambassadors on the preparatory work for the “Yerevan Dialogue” and its main areas of discussion.

During the ambassadorial meeting, discussions focused on Armenia–EU partnership, efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation with European countries, ongoing programs, and future prospects.

Minister Mirzoyan also presented updates on the implementation of regional connectivity projects involving Armenia, as well as ongoing work with international partners on the development of economic and transport infrastructure networks.

The meeting also addressed processes related to the normalization and development of relations with neighboring countries, including steps toward the institutionalization of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The diplomats exchanged views on regional and international developments and existing challenges.

The discussion also covered initiatives aimed at improving diplomatic service, including proposed amendments to the Law on Diplomatic Service of the Republic of Armenia.