Author: Andres-Papazian

LEVON ALTUNYAN: CREATION OF ACTUARIES’ INSTITUTION AIMS TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF SERVICES AT ARMENIA’S FINANCIAL MARKET

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 30, 2010 – 10:05 AMT 05:05 GMT

Executive Director of INGO-Armenia insurance company Levon Altunyan
said that the association of actuaries will unite all people of this
specialty. Besides, it will serve as a collector of global knowledge
for the Armenian actuarial concept, Altunyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter.

On July 29, Yerevan hosted an official ceremony of granting
certificates to actuaries, who have passed relevant courses.

Qualification certificates were awarded to eight young specialists,
while certificates on completion of the courses first stage were
provided to 15 people. The graduates have formed an association aimed
at development of this institution in Armenia.

According to Altunyan, the creation of actuaries’ institution aims
to improve the quality of services provided at Armenia’s financial
market. “Actuary is a person, who deals with risks, and this specialty
is highly required at our financial market, specifically, with respect
to the progress recorded in pension reforms,” concluded Altunyan.

From: A. Papazian

FIRST ACTUARIES CERTIFIED IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 29, 2010 – 19:23 AMT 14:23 GMT

On July 29, Yerevan hosted official certification ceremony for
Actuarial Training Program graduates.

8 young specialists were awarded with qualification certificates, 15
were given certificates for completion of the 1st stage of training
program. The program graduates have formed an association aiming at
the development of actuarial institution in Armenia.

The Actuarial Training Program provides the participants with the
skills and knowledge to permit them to become internationally certified
actuaries. At the end of their study the participants will demonstrate
both practical and theoretical knowledge in financial mathematics,
general insurance mathematics, actuarial management of life insurance,
principles and practice of life insurance and other business related
subjects and become professional specialists in actuarial science. The
main objective of the project is to develop a cadre of internationally
certified actuaries for the insurance and pension sectors as well as
build human and institutional capacity of the insurance companies to
tackle news risks in ever-more creative ways.

Upon successful completion of eight Basic and 12 Advanced Modules,
the participants will be certified by the Central Bank of Armenia as
Responsible Actuaries for insurance companies.

The Actuarial Training Program is organised by the initiative of the
Central Bank of Armenia, with the assistance of USAID.

From: A. Papazian

HSBC OPENS UP THE DOORS FOR TALENT DEVELOPMENT IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 29, 2010 – 21:11 AMT 16:11 GMT

For the fourth consecutive year HSBC Bank Armenia provides local and
international career development opportunities to HEI students and
young talents by conducting summer internships and Management Trainee
(MT) programmes.

To date, 42 students and 9 graduates benefited from these programmes,
which enable gaining hands-on experience in core banking business
locally as well as internationally, make an early career decision,
and earn the opportunity to secure a job when they graduate. After
successful completion of the internship the bank has employed 15 of its
interns and trusted 9 managerial positions to management trainees who
completed MT programmes in HSBC Group member banks in bigger markets
like UK, China, UAE and other European countries.

Initiatives of the bank also encompass developing relationships with
the local universities. The Bank’s Human Resources Department is
engaged in regular consultations with HEI career centres which aim
to foster talent development and management for the local market.

Recently the Head of HR Department represented HSBC insights on
young workforce employability and market development opportunities
at the republican seminar held at Yerevan State University with the
participation of many HEI career centre representatives, education,
government and industry experts.

“Our people are fundamental to our business success; we continually
invest in them providing professional development solutions locally
and internationally. Since 2009 we spent AMD 50 mln on training
and development projects engaging 80% of employees, besides six
of my colleagues currently work in leading positions at HSBC Group
member banks abroad who will come back and bring the internationally
gained experience to Armenia. At HSBC we are not supporters of only
experience diversification but also of human resources: currently
we have employees from around 8 different regions of RA and 3 other
countries,” said Head of Human Resources, Elvina Aghajanyan.

HSBC Group has a diverse workforce of over 335,000 people in 8,000
offices in 88 countries and territories worldwide. In Armenia
HSBC employs 360 specialists coming from various backgrounds, with
or without previous work experience. The average age of the bank
employees is 30, male to female ratio being 40 per cent and 60 per
cent respectively, absolute majority istrilingual, with 8 other
languages in line.

From: A. Papazian

LEVON ALTUNYAN: LIVE INSURANCE SERVICE WILL BE OFFERED IN ARMENIA BY 2015

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 30, 2010 – 10:06 AMT 05:06 GMT

Executive Director of INGO-Armenia insurance company Levon Altunyan
said that 2-3 companies dealing with life insurance will appear in
Armenia by 2014-2015 as part of pension reforms’ implementation. And
all of them will be institutional investors, Altunyan told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

“It depends on reforms’ essence: if they draw our population’s
attention to a private capital, and people start insuring themselves
in private pension and insurance companies, the demand will generate
supply,” he said.

According to Altunyan, insurance companies of those countries, which
are traditionally strong in these fields – Switzerland, France,
Japan and Scandinavian countries – may display interest towards the
Armenian insurance market.

As for the project of the Central Bank of Armenia to increase the
minimum amount of capital of loan organizations, Altunyan said that
currently eight companies operate in Armenia, while after approval
of the project only 2-3 companies will leave the market. “The other
companies will operate irrespective of the amount of authorized
capital,” he noted.

Altunyan added that if foreign investors enter Armenia’s market for
life insurance, they will be institutional investors, and the amount
of authorized capital will hardly hamper their activity.

From: A. Papazian

HOWARD BERMAN: TURKS, ONCE THEY COME TO TERMS WITH THEIR PAST, WILL DISCOVER THAT THEY HAVE RELIEVED THEMSELVES

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 29, 2010 – 12:30 AMT 07:30 GMT

In his opening statement at today’s House Foreign Affairs Committee
hearing, Chairman Howard Berman stated “it is critical that Turkey
acknowledge the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire against the
Armenian people… I believe that Turks, once they come to terms with
their past, will discover that they have relieved themselves and their
children of an immense moral burden,” reported the Armenian Assembly
of America.

“We commend Chairman Berman’s ongoing leadership regarding the
need to unequivocally affirm the Armenian Genocide,” stated the
Assembly’s Grassroots Director Taniel Koushakjian. “As the House of
Representatives looks to its August district work period, this hearing
provides a timely review of important issues and lends new impetus on
the need for Congress to adopt the Armenian Genocide resolution,” added
Koushakjian. Earlier this year, Chairman Berman was instrumental in
the committee passage of H. Res. 252, the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

While deterioration of U.S.-Turkey relations served as a focal point
in today’s House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on “Turkey’s New
Foreign Policy Direction: Implications for U.S.-Turkish Relations,”
Committee Members also discussed the importance of the Armenian
Genocide and other human rights issues.

Congressman Christopher Smith, in a series of questions, recalled the
words of philosopher George Santayana, who stated “those who cannot
remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Congressman Smith
raised concerns about Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide, the
denial of the genocide in Darfur coupled with Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s defense of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir,
who has been indicted on charges of genocide by the International
Criminal Court (ICC). Based on a 2009 interview of Erdogan who stated,
“No Muslim could perpetrate a genocide,” Rep. Smith asked Ambassador
Ross Wilson “what does this say about his judgment?”

Congressman Jim Costa pointed out the overwhelming evidence of
the Armenian Genocide, and also raised the topic of Armenia-Turkey
rapprochement and the Protocols signed between the two countries in
2009. Congressman Costa asked about progress in “country to country
relations.” Dr. Michael Rubin, Resident Scholar at the American
Enterprise Institute, indicated that progress had been made through
“quiet diplomacy” while Dr. Ian Lesser, Senior Transatlantic Fellow at
the German Marshall Fund, responded that it will take a “significant
recommitment” of the political leadership in Turkey. Dr. Lesser
also indicated that Armenia-Turkey rapprochement is important in
“its own right” and without being “linked” to other issues such as
Nagorno Karabakh.

From: A. Papazian

WORLD-RENOWNED ARMENIAN-CANADIAN DIRECTOR ATOM EGOYAN WANTS TO MAKE FILM IN TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 30, 2010 – 13:39 AMT 08:39 GMT

World-renowned Armenian-Canadian director Atom Egoyan wants to make
a film in Turkey, saying he welcomes all manners of projects.

A joint project with Turkish directors would be a good step toward
dialogue, Egoyan told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review during
a recent interview in Yerevan.

A fan of Turkish Nobel laureate author Orhan Pamuk, and especially
his novel “Snow,” Egoyan said it would be a pleasure to adapt the
writer’s work to the silver screen.

Referring to the Armenian Genocide, the filmmaker said: “As two
publics, we need to speak about these incidents without a mediator,”
he said. “Since we don’t speak, the West has not hesitated to exploit
our wounds for political interests.”

Speaking about the current situation between Turkish and Armenian
people, Egoyan said he deeply believed that the iron curtain between
both peoples would be torn down as past incidents became topics
of discussion.

In contrast to the commonly held view in the Diaspora, Egoyan said
he believed opening the closed border gate between Turkey and Armenia
was a significant step toward a peaceful future.

“Lifting borders will increase peace and welfare in the region,”
the director said. “It will provide an environment for dialogue.”

From: A. Papazian

SERGEY SHAKARYANTS: ARMENIA AND NKR HAVE PASSED THROUGH ANOTHER ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS WITHOUT LOSSES

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 30, 2010 – 16:14 AMT 11:14 GMT

Political analyst Sergey Shakaryants said that superpowers are tired
of Baku’s destructive stance in negotiations on the Karabakh conflict
settlement.

According to him, statements of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair
countries contain clear messages for the Azerbaijani leadership.

“Ilham Aliyev was clearly warned that Azerbaijan should reject
military resolution of the Karabakh conflict,” Shakaryants told a
press conference in Yerevan.

Thus, Baku will refrain from new provocations on the contact line in
the near future, he said.

Referring to the current situation around the Karabakh conflict,
the political analyst said that Armenia and NKR have passed through
this stage of negotiations without losses.

Commenting on the Hague court’s ruling, Shakaryants noted that
it recognizes the declaration of independence, but not Kosovo’s
independence as a state itself. He added that Kosovo cannot serve as a
precedent for the Karabakh problem, as these conflicts are not similar.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO BULGARIA AWARDED WITH STARA PLANINA ORDER

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 30, 2010 – 19:12 AMT 14:12 GMT

By Bulgarian president Georgi Parvanov’s decree, Armenian Ambassador
to Bulgaria Sergey Manasaryan was awarded with Stara Planina Order
the highest Bulgarian distinction.

The award ceremony took place on July 30 in presidential residence,
with RA honorary consuls, Bulgarian MPs and representatives of Armenian
community invited, RA Foreign Ministry press service reported.

From: A. Papazian

BAKO SAHAKYAN RECEIVES PARTICIPANTS OF INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 30, 2010 – 16:34 AMT 11:34 GMT

On July 29, President of the Republic of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan
received a group of participants of Tnjre international festival of
young musicians.

Mr. Sahakyan stressed the importance of such festivals organization in
Artsakh, considering it a significant event for establishing cultural
ties with different countries.

Bako Sahakyan noted that the cultural sphere is among key directions
of the country’s development.

NKR Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Narine Aghabalyan also
participated in the meeting, the Central Information Department of
the NKR President’s Office reported.

From: A. Papazian

SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY OF NKR MFA SUPPLEMENTED WITH RUSSIAN VERSION OF ARTSAKH BOOK

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 30, 2010 – 14:17 AMT 09:17 GMT

The scientific library of the NKR MFA has received as a gift the
Russian version of Makar Barkhudaryants’ book, entitled: Artsakh. The
book was published in Science publishing office in St. Petersburg.

The edition was prepared by Bella and Vahe Grigoryans and translated
by Nelson Alexanyan.

First, the book was published in Armenian in 1895 in Baku. It is of
exceptional historical and source study significance. Historian,
ethnographer, teacher, religious figure, native of Artsakh Makar
Barkhudaryants provided corresponding information on the natural
resources, flora, fauna and demography of the region, described
its historical monuments, collected and decoded inscriptions on
gravestones, church and monastery walls.

The book was repeatedly used in scientific researches, served as a
guide-book in further descriptions of Artsakh, and has been a unique
work so far providing a full idea of the material and spiritual
culture of the region.

The Russian version of the book, which is intended for historians,
theologians, statesmen and common readers, allowed increasing the
number of people, who want to get true information on Artsakh. The
book is distributed in scientific institutions and libraries of St.

Petersburg and Moscow, the NKR MFA Press Service reported.

From: A. Papazian