ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia Monday Karen Karapetyan and Dimitry Kumsishvili discussed economic cooperation between Armenia and Georgia Yerevan June 12 Naira Badalyan. Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan in Dilijan, within the framework of the annual gathering of a subgroup of IMF/WB countries headed by Belgium and the Netherlands, held a meeting with the delegation headed by First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Dimitri Kumshishvili. As the parliamentary press service reports, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the First Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia discussed issues concerning the agenda of the Armenian-Georgian relations and, in particular, economic cooperation. Karen Karapetyan and Dimitry Kumsishvili touched upon joint programs in various spheres, positively assessed their progress and discussed further steps. The parties noted with satisfaction that in recent months the volume of trade turnover between Armenia and Georgia has been steadily growing and it is necessary to work consistently in the direction of increasing these rates. The interlocutors confirmed mutual readiness to continue active cooperation in the direction of stimulating the ties between the business circles of the two countries, attracting investments, cooperation within the framework of free economic zones and in the sphere of tourism, deepening intercultural ties. Exports from Armenia in January December 2016 amounted to 1 billion 782 million 924.7 thousand USD. According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, the growth of exports compared to 2015 was 20%. At the same time, imports to Armenia in 2016 increased by 1.6% and amounted to 3 billion 292 million 425.3 thousand USD. The volume of bilateral trade with neighboring Georgia increased by 27.7% and amounted to 245 million 261.5 thousand USD.
Author: Antonian Lara
Education: Artsakh president highlighted the application of modern education methods by Shushi Technological university
Aravot, Armenia
Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited on Tuesday the Shushi Technological University and met with the teaching staff.
As the Information department at the President Office reported, issues related to the education process and a number of research programs being carried out by the university were on the agenda of the meeting.
The Head of the State highlighted the application of modern education methods by the university stressing the need for greater combination of theoretical and applied approaches.
Prime-minister Arayik Haroutyunyan and other officials accompanied the President.
Music: Sayat Nova Festival to bring together Armenian, Georgian musicians
Panorama, Armenia
Sayat Nova Festival 2017 will launch on June 16 in Tbilisi and will end on June 18 in Yerevan, Armenia. The annual festival, organized by Music of Armenia, will bring together the musicians of the two neighboring countries.
Sayat Nova Festival organizer Hasmik Movsisyan said at a press conference on Monday that Armenian and Georgian musicians will hold a concert at Tbilisi’s St. George Cathedral on June 16. She also added that Jnar Ensemble is set to hold a concert at Yerevan’s Silk Road Hotel on June 17, with Sayat Nova Ensemble closing the festival on June 18.
Sayat Nova Festival is an annual festival aimed at reviving and promoting the legacy of Sayat Nova’s music and ashough culture in general.
Senior Consultant at the Georgian Embassy in Armenia Nino Aptsiauri, present at the conference, highlighted the joint celebration of the festival dedicated to prominent ashik Sayat-Nova.
“Sayat-Nova belongs not only to the Armenian, but also to the Georgian people, since he is a great musician and poet with a regional wisdom. Sayat-Nova is the founder of the ashik poetry and his works are taught at higher educational institutions in Georgia,” she added.
Choose To Rise; The Victory Within by M.N. Mekaelian
The Victory Within
BUY NOW FROM
AMAZON
At the dawn of World War I, two brothers fight for survival in the midst of the Armenian genocide in Mekaelian’s debut novel.
In 1971, the Hagopian family gathers at a Chicago hospital after one of its elders has a stroke. Vartan Hagopian is a professor in his 70s who began his life in Armenia and now may end it in a hospital bed. A doctor tells the family that Vartan called out for a girl named Nadia during the attack that felled him. The name brings up painful memories for his slightly younger brother, Armen, who decides to tell the assembled family members the story of what he and his sibling lived through years ago. The sweeping tale begins in 1913 on the Hagopian family farm, located in the shadow of the Taurus Mountains along the Euphrates River. With the sultan of the Ottoman Empire deposed and the Young Turks in power, Armenians have been promised more equality under the law. Armen’s close-knit Armenian community lives alongside Turks and Kurds in relative peace. The future looks bright to teenage Armen and Vartan, who spend their evenings gazing at constellations. Slowly, though, it becomes clear that the government is overtaxing Armenians and brutally enforcing the practice with violence. Vartan and Armen’s father vows to stay, but as World War I breaks out, circumstances deteriorate, and Armen must find bravery far beyond his years. The most impressive aspect of Mekaelian’s historical tale is how it weaves together so many aspects of Armenian oppression into one family’s story without seeming implausible. The author carefully depicts Kharpert as a pastoral place that also becomes the setting of the worst things that humanity can offer, including forced assimilation, deportation, and outright slaughter. The sensible, memorable characters have an understandable dedication to their territory, and although the subject matter becomes quite bleak, the writing never does. The author shows Armen as a bright, humorous, hardworking teenager faced with unthinkable realities, and the wellsprings of courage that he draws from are seemingly limitless.
A tragic and beautiful story that manages to retain a wise and hopeful tone.
Art: Russian art sales in London feature five paintings by Aivazovsky
PanArmenian
June 3 2017
June 3, 2017 – 17:21 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – A Russian art sales week has kicked off in London. Sotheby´s, Christie´s and MacDougall auction houses will offer paintings of leading artists, as well as decorative art samples. As RIA Novosti told Panorama.am, the art works are put on auction from personal collections mainly from the U.S. and Europe. Generally the works are sold by descendants of immigrants, or their collectors and representatives.
The auction houses feature the paintings by Leon Bakst, Leonid Pasternak, Isaac Levitan, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Vasily Polenov, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Vasily Kandinsky, Ilya Repin and other leading Russian artists.
Sotheby´s auction house will also put on sale five paintings by prominent Russian-Armenian seascape artist Ivan (Hovhannes) Aivazovsky, including the Crimean Coast and Coast at Moonlight Night.
Tourism: 17 Israeli tour operators pay study visit to Armenia
Panorama, Armenia
June 2 2017
17 tour operators from Israel have paid a three-day study visit to Armenia. As the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments told Panorama.am, today they met with the Armenian tour operators, with Ashot Shakhmuradyan, Honorary Consul of Israel to Armenia, attending the meeting.
Zarmine Zeytuntsyan, Chairperson of the State Tourism Committee of the Armenian Ministry of Economic Development and Investments, attached importance to the cooperation between Armenia and Israel in tourism sphere.
“We believe that boosting tourism visits between the two countries plays an important role not only in economic terms, but also in terms of strengthening and developing inter-cultural dialogue and the friendship of the peoples,” she noted.
A number of issues regarding the further strengthening of the cooperation between Israel and Armenia in tourism sphere were touched upon at the meeting. The sides exchanged necessary information aimed at further promoting the cooperation in the future.
The visit of the Israeli tour operators to Armenia has been organized by the Armenia Air company.
Chess: 10 Armenian players claim victories at first round of European Championship
Panorama, Armenia
The European Individual Chess Championship (men) has launched in Minsk, Belarus. The chess tournament, which is held in 11-round Swiss system, involves 398 participants.
As Panorama.am was informed from the official website of the Armenian National Olympic Committee, 19 chess players represent Armenian in the tournament. 10 Armenian players have already claimed victories at Round 1 of the European Championship.
The best 22 chess players will be qualified for the World Cup.
Lufthansa Group seeks to expand presence in Armenia
Malaysia Sun
Lufthansa Group seeks to expand presence in Armenia
PanArmenian.Net – Wednesday 31st May, 2017
PanARMENIAN.Net – Lufthansa Group is planning to expand its presence in Armenia, Ronald Schulz, Senior Director at Lufthansa Group and Head of Liaison Office for the Russian Federation and CIS, said Tuesday, May 31 at the meeting with Sergey Avetisyan, Chief of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia, ARKA reports,
Lufthansa Group is represented in Armenia’s market by two air companies – Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, which together service eight flights a week.
Schulz said that the corporation will consider the Armenian market for expanding its activity in the country and will also discuss room for operating its flights in the daytime.
Avetisyan, in turn, told the Lufthansa representative about programs that are being implemented in Armenia to improve business environment in aviation.
Stressing the importance of the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement between the European Union and Armenia, he said that it will have positive impact on the air companies which have long been working with Armenia, allowing them to increase the frequency of their flights.
On December 1, 2016, the Council of the European Union upheld the European Commission’s intention to negotiate with Armenia over the latter’s accession to the EU common air space. The agreement envisages liberalization of flights for all EU countries.
Artsakh President visits Shushi
On May 18 Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited the town of Shushi.
At the ministry of culture and youth affairs the Head of the State held a working consultation on the realization of a range of projects in the corresponding spheres.
Thereafter the President got acquainted with the Shushi Culture Center reconstruction process and excavations being carried out in the former Meghretsots church.
Bako Sahakyan also participated in a meeting of young naturalists during which intellectual game “Brain Ring” was held. President Sahakyan considered important such events from the viewpoints of recognizing the native land and deepening the knowledge.
Tribute to fallen soldiers on 25th anniversary of Shushi liberation
Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan visited the Yerablur military pantheon on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Shushi liberation and Yerkrapah Day to pay tribute to the memory of fallen soldiers.
Karen Karapetyan laid flowers at the memorials to Vazgen Sargsyan, Andranik Ozanyan and the Unknown Soldier.