Author: Babajanian Karo

WORLD BANK DOWNGRADES ARMENIA’S GROWTH OUTLOOK

By MassisPost
Updated: March 31, 2015

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — In a significant downward revision of its earlier
projections, the World Bank said on Tuesday that economic growth in
Armenia will likely slow to just under 1 percent this year due to
spillover effects of a recession in Russia.

The bank forecast late last year that the Armenian economy will expand
by 3.5 percent in 2015 — as fast as it did in 2014, according to
official statistics. The Armenian government was even more upbeat,
forecasting a growth rate of 4.1 percent.

Laura Bailey, the head of the World Bank’s Yerevan office, said
that the figure is unlikely to exceed 0.8 percent. She warned that
even this growth projection could prove overly optimistic in case
of a deeper-than-anticipated crisis in Russia or renewed drastic
fluctuations of the Armenian dram’s exchange rate.

“I don’t have a forecast for what will happen with the dram,” Bailey
told a news conference. “What I am trying to communicate is that
if there were sharp, abrupt changes either direction, that can be
disruptive to exports and trade.”

“That’s what we worry about, not as much whether the dram were to
weaken a bit more gradually or strengthen but the sharpness,” she
said, cautioning against a repeat of a brief currency crisis that
hit Armenia in December.

The Armenian currency weakened by roughly 18 percent against the U.S.

dollar in November and December amid falling remittances from Armenians
working abroad and Russia in particular. Its exchange rate has been
largely stable so far this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielian seemed to acknowledge on Monday
that the government too will have to revise its projections downwards.

“The government has never said that there will be no changes in the
[forecast] indicators,” he told reporters. “There will be discussions
[in the government] soon. I will present forecasts to you as soon as
those discussions are over.”

“We are going to have less growth than was projected,” said Arsen
Ghazarian, the head of Armenia’s largest business association.

“Forecasts range from 0.5 percent to 2 percent.”

GERMAN DIRECTOR SHOOTING FILM ON GENOCIDE

15:58 * 31.03.15

A German director and dramatist is working on a film project dedicated
to Armenia and the Armenian Genocide.

Christian Papke’s movie, entitled Long Way of Shadows, will be
presented on Germany’s first public TV channel on April 21, three days
before the tragic anniversary. As the director himself told reporters
in Yerevan, it is ranked as a country representation film that will
serve as a visiting card in future.

“I am trying to represent your country, pointing out to its specific
features,” he said, comparing the independent Armenian statehood with
a fellow who has only recently crossed the adulthood threshold.

The director added that Genocide is a central topic in his work which
has 45 minutes’ length.

He further addresed Frantz Werfel’s The Forty Days of Musa Dagh,
noting that it very vividly feature the Armenian nation’s tragedy.

“We have planned to organize a 40-hour ongoing reading of that novel
by 200 actors. It is good that the world is awakening again”.

“Events to respect the Armenian Genocide victims of victims will be
held across Germany this year,” the director said, noting that guest
genocide experts will attend the ceremonies on the last day to give
clarifications on the tragedy.

He added that a commemoration concert by a renowned Armenian opera
singer will conclude the commemorations.

The German director said he doesn’t think that the society is now
sufficiently aware of the tragedy, adding that proper work needs to
be conducted to fill that information gap.

He noted that a probe into archives revealed also Germany’s share
of responsibility, encouraging Armenia to work more actively towards
the organization of different events.

Klaus Kuzenberg, the Nuremberg State Theatre’s artistic director
also attending the news conference, said it is very remarkable for
him that most of the events will be held in their city.

“We have invited parliament members, but we find public
awareness-raising to be our major task,” he said, calling for
parliaments to confront an informed society’s choice.

Kuzenberg added that that the awareness-raising objective has also
caused them to invite Turkish officials to the ceremonies.

EURASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK INTENDS TO IMPLEMENT NEW INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN ARMENIA

31.03.2015 16:40

YEREVAN, March 31. /ARKA/. The Eurasian Development Bank is now
making necessary preparations for lending $220 million to Armenia
and Kyrgyzstan for implementation of four investment projects,
Dmitry Pankin, chairman of the bank’s board, said in an interview
with Analytical Banking Magazine.

“It is decided to extend three investment loans amounting to 230
million to Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. Other four investment projects
for these countries amounting to $220 million are at the preparatory
stage now,” he said in his interview.

Asked if the bank considers room for extending loans in various
countries in their national currencies given devaluation of the
Russian ruble and breakaway from the dollar, Pankin said that the
bank is dealing only with tenge, rubles and dollars so far.

He found the idea of extending loans in national currencies interesting
saying that the current volatility at forex market just fuels interest
in dealing with national currencies.

“But it is very important to ensure here mechanisms of refinancing
of these projects in national currencies, and we will work in this
direction,” the chairman of the bank said.

Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial
organization established by Russia (66% of authorized capital)
and Kazakhstan (33% of authorized capital) in 2006 to help develop
market economies and boost mutual trade ties in member states. The
member-states are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia
and Tajikistan. —0—

GENOCIDE FACT BECOMES KNOWN TO ENTIRE WORLD NOTWITHSTANDING TURKEY’S DENIAL POLICY: DANIEL FEIERSTEIN

11:27, 31 March, 2015

YEREVAN, 31 MARCH, ARMENPRESS: In July for several days, Yerevan will
become a gathering place of the world famous Genocide experts. More
than 300 representatives of the scientific world from different
continents will come to participate in the conference of the
International Association of Genocide Scholars. Armenpress presents an
exclusive interview with the President of the International Association
of Genocide Scholars Daniel Feierstein.

– What kind of expectations do you have with the upcoming 13th
Conference of the International Association of Genocide Scholars?

– All the IAGS Conferences used to be enriching due the wide spectrum
of disciplines and cultures among the IAGS members. However, this
Conference will be particularly significative due to the importance
of the centennial of the Genocide committed by the Ittihadist Turkey
against the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. The origins of the
IAGS in 1994 were directly concerned with the recognition of the
genocide against those groups, in a moment in which the theories
of the uniqueness of the Nazi genocide were still strong. So,
many scholars of the IAGS have that recognition in our hearts as
one of the origins of the comparative genocide studies and most
of the first IAGS´s resolutions were directly concerned with the
clear recognition that the annihilation of Armenians, Assyrians and
Greeks had a genocidal dimension. That´s why the possibility to meet
for the first time in Yerevan, commemorating the annihilation of the
Armenians and contributing with the memorialization and the fight for
justice and against the oblivion makes this Conference very special
in its consequences.

– How and why had been made a decision to run the upcoming 13th
Conference of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
in Armenia?

– The IAGS issues Call for Proposals for its next Conferences,
usually a couple of years before. As usual, we have received many good
proposals but no one had doubts when we have received the proposal
by the Armenian Genocide Museum to host the 2015 Conference in Yerevan.

The significance of being in Yerevan in the moment of the Centennial
of the genocide was too strong for the Committee which took the
decission. On the other hand, the proposal prepared by the Museum
was quite good and it will guarantee an outstanding and enriching
Conference, probably one of the most important in the whole history
of the IAGS.

– What kind of actions are needed in international recognition and
condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, taking in to account the
fact that 100 years after the crime it had not achieved the proper
appraisal from the international society. The last fact promotes the
repetition of such crimes?

– In my opinion, the most important element is to spread the
information among the civil population all over the world and to
allow the different societies to deal with the consequences of the
genocide, either in Turkey, in the diasporas and elsewhere. I am
convinced that, during the last decades, most of these objectives
were successful beyond the role of the different govts in Turkey. The
genocide committed by the Ittihadist State was denied for more than
70 years but during the last decades it became clear in almost the
whole world what happened and even if the current government in Turkey
continues denying the facts or pushing different States against that
recognition, most of the people know (inside and outside Turkey)
what happened to the Ottoman society between 1915 and 1917 and the
following years. I am not particularly confident in the political
recognitions by international bodies like Parliaments but it is more
important the deep and more fruitful work with the civil societies,
the works in schools, universities, in the streets of any country and
the different ways in working through the consequences of the different
genocidal experiences, the eternal fight for justice, truth and memory.

– 100 years ago Osmanian Turkey massacring Armenians and other
Christians for their nationality and belief. Then the same happened to
Jews. Today in Northern Iraq under the target are the Yezidis. Arising
from the previous question, how would you evaluate the actions of
the international society and global superpowers to prevent Yezidis’
Genocide.

– During the last century many populations (like the Yazidis nowadays)
have been victims of the games of geopolitics, sometimes direct
or indirect victims of the different types of intervention of the
“super-powers” in societies in which they ignore almost everything.

The ISIS was not a genuine product of the Islamic world but, as other
organizations like Al Qaeda or others, a creation of intelligence
services of the “super-powers” trying to overthrow or destabilize
secular Islamic governments (it was the case in Irak or Aghanistan in
the past and it is the case, for example, in Bangladesh nowadays with
groups like Jamaat al Islami). So, instead of asking for more and more
“military interventions” against “enemies” which change day-by-day
(the heroes used to be devils months after and no one remember what
the media said a year ago) my conviction is that the international
community should be more respectful and supportive of the own processes
in each region. The most destabilized regions in the Islamic world
nowadays are the places which suffered foreign military interventions
by the UN or the “super-powers” (Irak, Afghanistan, Libya) or places in
which the foreign intervention supported militarily different groups
trying to influence in a possible civil war (like in Sirya). So,
it is quite clear the these “interventions” have not produced any
kind of improvement for the civilian population.

On the contrary, the number of civilians killed multiplied by 3, 5
or 6 after the military interventions. In all of these countries the
situation worsened from a repressive regime to a total anarchy and
chaos, in which genocidal groups like ISIS or others could grow and
expand and different military gangs took control of different regions.

So, it is clear that reality is far more complex than the superficial
and banal pictures presented by the international media and that,
so, we need a deeper and more careful analysis before any decission
to drop bombs or send military equipment. To recover the humanitarian
character of international interventions instead of military actions,
the involvement with regional and national institutions and the
cooperation South-South have shown better results than “dropping
bombs” or creating “no-fly zones”. The “super-powers” have been the
mega-killers during the XXth Century, so particularly the southerners
like me (I am Argentine) have no hopes at all they will be the ones to
protect the world from genocide. Maybe we should start the work among
us (the ones who suffered the violence) trying to develop smaller
but more effective ways to work together, asking the “super-powers
(or mega-killers)” to stop sending weapons to our regions instead of
asking them to send more.

Interview by Anahit Minasyan

Photo by

LOS ANGELES COUNTY COMMEMORATES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL WITH PUBLIC ART EXHIBIT

By MassisPost
Updated: March 30, 2015

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich
will commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide by hosting
a month-long interactive art installation on three levels at Grand
Park beginning with an unveiling ceremony April 25th at 5:00 pm.

Titled “iwitness,” the installation consists of an inter-connected
network of towering asymmetrical photographic sculptures wrapped
with massive portraits of eyewitness survivors of the Genocide. The
sculptures have no right angles and their irregular angular shapes
speak to an unbalanced world, continually at risk of war, ethnic
cleansing and genocide. They range in height from eight to fifteen
feet. (Visual attached.)

Conceived and constructed by artists Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian and
architect Vahagn Thomasian, iwitness will be the first ever public
art installation at Grand Park.

“This remarkable memorial honors the 1.5 million victims of the
Armenian Genocide and tells the personal stories of survivors —
first-hand eyewitnesses to one of the worst atrocities of the 20th
century,” said Mayor Antonovich.

“iwitness is a temporary monument to the men and women who rebuilt
their disrupted lives and communities in the aftermath of genocide,”
said artist Ara Oshagan. “The proximity and clustering of the
sculptures alludes to, and reflects, the new communities they created
after being dispersed across the globe.”

The installation offers a continually shifting perspective during the
day, as shadows cast by sunlight create a dynamic interplay between
the asymmetrical lines, shapes and forms of the sculptures. At night,
a different atmosphere and environment is created as each sculpture
in the network is illuminated from the inside.

To educate and promote discourse, audiences at iwitness walk amid
these larger-than-life sculptures to reflect on its message and the
Turkish government’s continued denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Most of the men and women survivors portrayed are Southern California
residents who immigrated here to reestablish their lives. They include:

· Emmy-nominated filmmaker Michael J. Hagopian of Thousand Oaks,
who survived because his mother hid him in a mulberry bush.

· Hampartsoum Chitjian of Los Angeles, who was saved by a blind
Kurdish man.

· Hayastan Terzian of Pasadena, whose family was saved by the U.S.

Consul Leslie Davis stationed near her hometown.

· Sam Kadorian of Van Nuys, who was left for dead under a pile of
decomposing bodies and survived on his wits, courage and will to live.

With fiscal sponsorship of the project from the Lucie Foundation, the
installation coincides with the Foundation’s “Month of Photography in
Los Angeles” (MOPLA) photo festival that is held every year in April.

THE REPRESENTATIVE OF ARMENIA TO THE OSCE DENOUNCES THE PROVOCATIONS OF BAKU

ARMENIA

Friday, March 27, the Permanent Representative of Armenia to the OSCE,
Ambassador Arman Kirakossian, did not mince his words to denounce
Azerbaijan’s policy, in his speech on the occasion of the meeting
of the OSCE Permanent Council. M.Kirakossian referred in particular
commando raid attempts Azeri March 19, along the border of Artsakh,
at Martakert, an attack that killed four defense army of soldiers
Artsakh. He said the response units of the Defense Army of Artsakh
positioned in the sector had inflicted serious losses in the ranks
of Azeri commandos; but the Azerbaijani army was careful to report
such losses, prohibiting access areas near the fighting journalists
and representatives of civil society.

The permanent representative of Armenia said that for the first time
since the cease-fire, Azerbaijan had used caliber 120 mm artillery
pieces, which speaks volumes about the intentions of Baku and its
responsibilities in the escalation of tensions. Such deliberate
actions by Azerbaijan aimed at undermining the regime of cease-fire
established under trilateral agreements in May 1994 and February 1995.

The Ambassador Kirakossian stressed that these alarming developments
should be monitored with particular attention by the co-chairs
of the Minsk Group and the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office.

The Ambassador Kirakossian also pointed out that as the world marks
the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
the Azerbaijani authorities send hatred and xenophobia messages. In
this regard, he cited the statements of the President and the Defense
Minister of Azerbaijan, who claimed rights to the territory of Armenia
and other territories, openly expressing their willingness to resolve
the conflict of Artsakh through military aggression.

Mr Kirakossian stressed that the physical survival of the people of
Artsakh and its protection against the atrocities of Baku are the
responsibility of the authorities of Artsakh. He also recalled that
these regions of Artsakh that had fallen under the control of the
armed forces of Azerbaijan had been fully emptied of their native
population. Mr. Kirakossian considers that Azerbaijan is trying to
revive the military phase of the conflict so as to deprive the people
of Artsakh its right to self-determination by the use of force.

Condemning the “political strength” of the authorities of Azerbaijan,
Armenian Ambassador to the OSCE stressed that Baku portrait full
responsibility for the military escalation of the conflict and its
consequences. He reiterated the firm position of Armenia in favor
of strengthening the cease-fire regime through the establishment of
confidence building measures as a major condition for progress in
peace talks.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015, Gari © armenews.com

LE PRESIDENT SARKISSIAN NOMME PROFESSEUR HONORAIRE DE L’UNIVERSITE DE PEKIN

ARMENIE

Le president de la Republique armenienne Serge Sarkissian s’est vu
decerner le titre de professeur honoraire de l’Universite de Pekin,
lors d’une ceremonie dans l’universite de la capitale chinoise
vendredi 27 mars, où il se trouvait dans le cadre d’une visite
d’Etat de trois jours en Chine. Le president Sarkissian a evoque
a cette occasion avec les dirigeants de l’universite chinoise les
perspectives de developpement de la cooperation dans le domaine de
l’eduction entre Erevan et Pekin. S’exprimant devant les etudiants et
les enseignants de l’University en marge de la ceremonie de remise
de son titre professoral, le president Sarkissian est revenu sur
les accords relatifs au developpement de relations amicales entre
l’Armenie et la Chine signes la veille par les leaders des deux pays,
en soulignant qu’ils confirmaient leur disposition commune a renforcer
le dialogue politique et a developper la cooperation dans les domaines
de l’economie, de la culture et de l’education. M. Sarkissian n’a pas
manque non plus d’evoquer les priorites de la diplomatie armenienne,
les defis auxquels est confronte son pays, mais aussi les perspectives
qui s’offrent a lui. Il s’est ainsi felicite du developpement rapide
des relations armeno-chinoises et des perspectives de renforcement
de leur cooperation bilaterale. “Les Armeniens eprouvent un respect
tout particulier a l’egard de la Chine, dont le peuple a su preserver
sa riche civilisation, et des traditions heritees d’une histoire
pluriseculaire. Par ailleurs, la Chine montre l’exemple d’un Etat
qui a enregistre des succès impressionnants dus a une strategie
prudente, qui lui a permis de gagner sa place parmi les nations les
plus puissantes de la planète”, a ajoute le president Sarkissian qui
s’est aussi felicite de “l’implication croissante de la Chine dans
les processus en cours dans la region du Sud Caucase”. “La cooperation
avec la Chine dans tous les domaines possibles constitue une priorite
pour l’Armenie. Au cours des dernières annees, nous avons pu apprecier
le soutien amical du gouvernement et du peuple de Chine. Votres pays
nous a aides a surmonter des difficultes socio-economiques liees
a la periode de transition, contribuant ainsi au developpement de
notre pays”, a ajoute M.Sarkissian, en precisant que les deux pays
entendaient mettre l’accent sur le developpement du tourisme, qui
est le meilleur moyen pour les deux peuples de mieux se connaître. Le
premier pas dans cette direction sera l’etablissement de vols directs
entre l’Armenie et la Chine, a annonce le president armenien.

Concernant plus precisement la politique etrangère de l’Armenie,
M.Sarkissian a souligne qu’elle avait vocation a creer un climat de
stabilite politique, et les conditions de la securite, de l’harmonie
et du developpement economique dans la region. Sur ce point, le
president armenien n’a pas manque d’evoquer le processus de paix
au Karabagh, ainsi que les relations entre l’Armenie et la Turquie,
sous l’angle des commemorations marquant le centenaire du genocide
qui se derouleront le 24 avril prochain a Erevan. Autant de sujets
que le president Sarkissian a egalement evoques un peu plus tard avec
le president du Vietnam, voisin et rival communiste de la Chine, qui
a reitere sa volonte de repondre a l’invitation a se rendre en Armenie.

Des relations eurasiennes qui semblent susciter en tout cas plus
d’enthousiasme a Erevan, que les premiers pas effectues par l’Armenie
dans l’Union economique eurasienne dirigee par le president russe
Vladimir Poutine.

mardi 31 mars 2015, Gari (c)armenews.com

SYRIAN MILITARY SOURCE ALLEGES TURKISH ROLE IN IDLIB OFFENSIVE

March 30, 2015

(Reuters) – A Syrian military source accused Turkey on Monday of
helping Islamist rebels to stage an assault on Idlib, a provincial
capital which fighters seized at the weekend.

The source declined to comment on the situation in Idlib, citing
security considerations, but a monitoring group has confirmed the al
Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and allies now control Idlib and said the
Syrian air force bombed the city on Monday.

The fall of Idlib, 30 km (20 miles) from the Turkish border, marks
only the second time in the Syrian civil war that Damascus has
lost control of a provincial capital. The first was Raqqa, which
the ultra-radical Islamic State group has turned into the de facto
capital of its self-declared caliphate.

Echoing more general comments by President Bashar al-Assad, the
military source accused both Turkey and Jordan of supporting the
insurgents in their Idlib offensive, saying they were “leading
operations and planning them”. The insurgents were using advanced
communication apparatus that had been supplied to them via Turkey,
the source added.

The Turkish foreign ministry declined to comment.

Turkey is one of the regional states most hostile to Assad, along
with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In an interview with the U.S. network
CBS, Assad described Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as a “Muslim
Brotherhood fanatic” who was directly supporting insurgents
“logistically and militarily” daily.

Syria’s government has not commented on the fall of Idlib, though
the pro-government Watan newspaper published in Damascus reported on
Monday that the Nusra Front and its allies had raised the al Qaeda
flag over government buildings in the city.

Nusra Front was joined by groups including the hardline Ahrar al-Sham
in seizing Idlib on Saturday, a reminder of the pressures facing
Damascus after more than four years of crisis.

The Islamist alliance rejected a call by the Turkish-based
mainstream political opposition to let an interim government set up
its headquarters in Idlib, saying it would ruled by those “in the
trenches and not in hotels”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the monitoring group, said
warplanes staged a number of raids on Idlib. More than 170 people on
both sides were killed in the fighting, including at least 126 Syrian
insurgents, the Observatory said.

GOVERNANCE QUESTION

The setback for Assad in Idlib coincides with growing tension over
Yemen between Saudi Arabia and Iran, one of Assad’s firmest backers.

Turkey has come out in support of a Saudi-led military intervention
against Iranian-allied Houthis in Yemen.

The Syrian conflict, in which an estimated 220,000 people have been
killed, has been a major arena for Iranian-Saudi rivalry.

The Nusra Front’s influence in northwestern Syria has been expanding
at the expense of mainstream rebel groups, some of which received U.S.

military support. It is a rival of Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot
that has seized territory in both Syria and Iraq.

Ahrar al-Sham issued a statement urging the people of Idlib to help
fighters run the city and saying they were not seeking to set up an
Islamic emirate.

“There was an agreement by all factions to protect and ensure that
essential services are continued,” said an Ahrar al-Sham fighter who
said he was speaking from Idlib during an interview conducted via
the internet. He did not give his name.

But there are many questions over how groups that won Idlib in a
joint operation will run the city.

“The rebels have certainly shown they can cooperate on the battlefield
– that is not new – but the governance question has been much more
difficult for them, particularly in the north, and particularly in
Idlib province where Nusra has been asserting unilateral dominance,”
said Noah Bonsey, a senior analyst with International Crisis Group.

Mainstream rebel groups fighting Assad in southern Syria say they
recently received increased support from his foreign enemies in
response to a government offensive there.

Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Observatory, said the death toll among
Syrian government forces and personnel was much lower than among
insurgents. An opposition activist in the area said the government had
withdrawn personnel and anything sensitive to the state in apparent
anticipation of losing the city.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WAS SIGNED BETWEEN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF ARMENIA, VIVACELL-MTS, SYNOPSYS ARMENIA AND UNICOMP

30-03-2015 16:19:04 | Armenia |

Today a four-partite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed
between the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia, VivaCell-MTS,
Synopsys Armenia and Unicomp. The MOU signing was followed by a press
conference presided by the RA Minister of Education and Science Armen
Ashotyan, VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian, Director
of Synopsys Armenia Hovik Musayelyan and Director of Unicomp CJSC
Armen Baldryan.

The MOU highlights the strategic collaboration between the state and
key players in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
sector in pushing the ICT education in the country to qualitatively
higher level. The goals and actions set by the MOU reflect shared
commitment of the Ministry from one side, and ICT leaders VivaCell-MTS,
Synopsys Armenia and Unicomp, from the other side, to support jointly
the establishment of the ICT sector as one of the most important
components and top priority directions of the country’s economic,
scientific and technical development. The MOU defines the objectives
of the long-term strategic roadmap of activities to be implemented
through the joint coordinated efforts of the Ministry and the
respective ICT companies.

The MOU is aimed at raising the quality of specialty education
in the sphere of ICT, through continuous improvement of the
quality of education in the sphere, through providing technical
means, development of educational platforms and introduction of
methodologies, based on modern theoretical and practical innovative
knowledge owned by the companies. The joint project is focused on
creating better opportunities for the young people in Armenia in
choosing future professions in the fields of information technologies,
telecommunication and microelectronics.

As stipulated by the MOU, the RA Ministry of Education and Science
will ensure the implementation of the above-mentioned subjects,
as well as will ensure the elaboration and approval of criteria and
materials for teaching “Microelectronics”, “Information Technologies”
and “Basics of Telecommunication”. The new educational pilot program
will be introduced in the 2015-2016 school year.

Armenia’s leading telecommunications operator VivaCell-MTS will
participate in the process of elaborating the criteria and the teaching
materials for the subject of “Basics of Telecommunication” and the
vocational training and professional re-training of the instructors
of the subject. In addition, the Company has undertaken financing the
establishment of laboratories for the “Microelectronics”, “Information
Technologies” and “Basics of Telecommunication”. Overall, for the
implementation of the project VivaCell-MTS allocates AMD 70 million.

Synopsys Armenia will participate in the process of elaborating
the criteria and the teaching materials for the subject of
“Microelectronics” and will carry out the training of teachers of the
“Microelectronics” subject.

Unicomp will participate in the process of elaborating the criteria and
the teaching materials for the subject of “Information Technologies”
and will carry out the training of teachers of the subject of
“Information Technologies”. Also, the Company will ensure the provision
of the “Microelectronics” “Information Technologies” and “Basics of
Telecommunication” laboratories and respective computer network.

The MOU envisions implementing the educational project this year in
five educational establishments throughout the country such as “Photon”
college in Gyumri, “Quantum” college, Vanadzor school specialized in
mathematics and natural sciences, Yerevan high-school of the Armenian
State Engineering University, and the school with a special profile
in physics and mathematics named after Artashes Shahinyan, including
the establishment of laboratories for the three above mentioned
subjects. The selection of the educational institutions was done
together with the Ministry.

“We already have a number of success stories of cooperation between
the state and the private sector in the sphere of education. This
four-partite memorandum, too, has the potential to join the list of
successful projects which should serve as a model for economically
successful organizations to partake in educational activities and make
long-term investments in the sphere,” said RA Minister of Education
and Science Armen Ashotyan.

“The mission of the project is two-fold. On the one hand, the high
schools are given an opportunity to provide high-quality education
programs in microelectronics, IT or telecommunications, with support
of the practicing specialists, who have relevant educational and
professional background. On the other hand, the project will have a
solid social impact as it will help meet the needs of the job market
and help the Armenian youth stay and work in Armenia. This project
is a long-term investment in Armenia’s younger generation with an
aim to prepare them as a potential workforce for present and future
ICT companies,” VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian told.

“The program aims to introduce microelectronics, programming, network
security and telecommunication to high school students. Due to this
program the school graduates will be professionally oriented at
the same time universities will admit more mature and knowledgeable
students,” said Hovik Musayelyan, director of Synopsys Armenia. “The
pilot program will be officially launched this year. Given the
successful implementation of the program, which I believe is
guaranteed, the program will further expand to include more schools
from Yerevan and the regions, making Armenia a world pioneer in
creating a fundamental education system in ICT.

“Today the provision of high quality education is an essential
milestone in the country’s development, whereas the ICT development
level defines the country’s potential for economic growth and
safeguard. Evidently, combination of education and ICT components
holds an immense strategic importance for Armenia”, the Director of
Unicomp CJSC Armen Baldryan told.

News from Armenia and Diaspora – Noyan Tapan

LE PRESIDENT HOLLANDE EVOQUERA LE CONFLIT DU HK AVEC SES HOMOLOGUES ARMENIEN ET AZERBAIDJANAIS LORS D’UN DEPLACEMENT A EREVAN ET A BAKOU EN AVRIL PROCHAIN

ARMENIE

Jamanak et Aravot rapportent les propos de M. Harlem Desir,
Secretaire d’Etat aux Affaires europeennes, selon lequel, lors de
ses prochains deplacements a Erevan et a Bakou, le President de la
Republique s’entretiendra avec les Presidents Sarkissian et Aliev
au sujet du conflit du HK, le statu quo actuel ne repondant pas aux
interets des parties. Il a rappele que c’est la raison pour laquelle
le President de la Republique a souhaite reprendre l’initiative
diplomatique en organisant a Paris, le 27 octobre dernier, un
sommet armeno-azerbaïdjanais. Cette rencontre a permis de trouver un
accord sur une première mesure de confiance a caractère humanitaire,
sous la forme d’un echange de donnees sur les disparus au cours du
conflit. La mesure a commence a etre mise en oeuvre. La montee des
tensions au cours des derniers mois confirme l’absolue necessite de
les faire respecter.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 24 mars 2015

mardi 31 mars 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com