Author: Basmajian Ani

ARMENIA: ANNUAL IT TURNOVER REACHES USD 110 MILLION IN 2008

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.11.2009 14:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Currently, Information Technologies are an important
development factor in RA, Enterprise Incubator Foundation director
Bagrat Yengibaryan said in his statement on IT development challenges
in Armenia, delivered at IT competitiveness forum in Yerevan.

As Bagrat Yengibaryan informed, 4-year research results show the
major role IT technologies play in RA economy development.

According to foundation director, government-private sector
collaboration will further promote Information Technologies’
integration into society, providing availability of a number of
services.

Currently, 210 IT companies are already operating in Armenia, 25%
specializing in software programming and 13% in web-design. In this
context, Bagrat Yengibaryan noted that in 2008 annual IT turnover in
Armenia reached USD 110 million, exceeding 1998 results by 27%. The
sphere provided 5000 jobs in RA, with software production exports
comprising USD 70 million.

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO "WE ARE GREATLY INTERESTED IN BOOSTING ECONOMIC TIES WITH ARMENIA"

ARMENPRESS
Nov 24, 2009

MINSK, NOVEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS: "I greet the current negotiation
process taking place within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group
toward the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," President
of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said today at the meeting with the
heads of the CIS state news agencies in Minsk.

According to him, the conflict must be solved in a peaceful way and it
is inadmissible to look at each other as "target points". "My greatest
wish is that the two countries themselves come to the settlement of
the conflict," the president of Belarus said.

With request of Armenpress, referring to the economic relations
between Armenia and Belarus, Lukashenko noted that if few years ago
they almost did not exist, now a certain progress is being registered.

The presidents of the two countries agreed to encourage the initiatives
of the businessmen of the two countries. He noted that recently he
has received a group of Armenian businessmen and came to certain
agreements. "We are greatly interested in boosting economic relations
with Armenia, though the absence of roads in some way impede their
development. Armenia’s market is comparatively small but together
we have big opportunity to enter markets of third countries," the
president of Belarus said.

CSTO SEC. GEN. SLAMS ALIYEV’S BELLICOSE STATEMENTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.11.2009 15:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha reiterated
his negative attitude about statements on resolution of conflicts by
use of force.

"I am hopeful that the Azerbaijani President’s recent statement was
just an attempt to speed up an agreement with Armenia," he told a
news conference in Yerevan on Tuesday.

Mr. Bordyzha also remarked that the talks for the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement have been intensified recently.

WE HAVE YET TO AGREE ON THE THE STATUS OF NAGORNO KARABAKH: POLITICAL SCIENTIST

news.az
Nov 23 2009
Azerbaijan

Rasim Musabeyov Rasim Musabeyov is upbeat on the results of the Munich
meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Political scientist Rasim Musabeyov is upbeat on the results of the
Munich meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia and
the agreement of the Armenian side to withdraw its troops from the
occupied lands and postpone the issue of Karabakh status.

The political scientist said the following: "The issue of the
corridor width that Azerbaijan will open for Armenia for the
temporary communication with Nagorno Karabakh is still discussed and
consultations in this regard will continue on a high level. The issue
of terms of defining Nagorno Karabakh’s status will also be discussed".

"Azerbaijan’s stiff military rhetoric and definite signals from
Russia seem to have influenced Armenia’s position which earlier
hoped to protract the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. The United
States also contributed as the Armenian Diaspora complained that the
superpowers were putting too much pressure on Yerevan. But I think
Azerbaijan’s stiff position was the main component that intensified
international mediators, Musabeyov noted.

"I would like to note that no one has a right to order Azerbaijan
whether to start war or not and Armenia seems to have realized it.

Azerbaijan kept silence when during the next meetings of the presidents
Armenian troops held trainings in Nagorno Karabakh and when after the
high level talks President Sargsyan returned to Nagorno Karabakh and
blatantly took part in the armed trainings", Musabeyov said.

ADMINISTRATIVE COURT UPHOLDS NIKOL PASHINYAN’S ACTION AGAINST POLICE
Lusine Vasilyan

"Radiolur"
20.11.2009 14:08

The Administrative Court today returned the verdict on Nikol
Pashinyan’s action against Police. The Court decided to uphold the
action and require the authorized body to provide a certificate
confirming Nikol Pashinyan’s permanent residence in the Republic
of Armenia over the past five years. The verdict was unexpected for
Pashinyan’s defenders and his representative.

"We have already taken certain steps. Very quickly we have mobilized
all forces to ensure Nikol Pashinyan’s victory at the elections of
January 10," said David Matevosyan, Nikol Pashinyan’s representative.

GOVERNING LEADERSHIP DOESN’T ACCEPT TER-PETROSSIAN’S ‘WELCOME’

Tert
Nov 20 2009
Armenia

"Levon Ter-Petrossian didn’t create an undercover, secret situation,"
Leader of Republican Party of Armenia parliamentary faction Galust
Sahakyan stated at a press conference today in response to the question
whether Levon Ter-Petrossian’s last speech was a proposal to cooperate
with the leadership.

Sahakyan said that the first president’s last speech can’t have an
influence on further political developments, adding that they accept
proposals of direct cooperation.

"The ‘welcome’ is unacceptable for us. We are for direct cooperation,"
the vice-president of the governing Republican party stated.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Assembly of America
November 19, 2009
Contact: Press Department
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 393-3434

ARMENIAN CAUCUS MEMBERSHIP GROWS TO 148

Assembly’s efforts bring Representatives Murphy and Wamp on board

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) welcomed
the official announcement that Representatives Chris Murphy (D-CT) and
Zach Wamp (R-TN) have joined the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues – bringing the total Caucus membership to 148 Members to date.

Congressman Murphy is currently serving his second term representing
Connecticut’s Fifth District and is a cosponsor of H. Res. 252, the
Armenian Genocide Resolution. He serves on the Energy and Commerce
Committee and its Health and Telecommunications Subcommittees. He also
serves on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and its
National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee.

Reelected to a seventh term in office, Congressman Wamp cosponsored
H. Res. 106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution last Congress. A member
of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Representative Wamp is
in a unique position to help ensure robust funding to Armenia to help
offset the economic impact of Turkey’s ongoing blockade.

"The Assembly advocacy efforts continue to yield results on Capitol
Hill," said Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "We look forward to
working with Representatives Murphy and Wamp to further strengthen the
U.S.-Armenia relationship. With the bold steps Armenia has taken
toward rapprochement with Turkey, America has an important role to
play in ensuring that Turkey lifts its blockade and normalizes
relations with Armenia without any preconditions," Ardouny added.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt membership
organization.
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YEREVAN HOSTS PRESENTATION OF NEW BOOK: "NEW JERUSALEM. HIEROTOPY AND ICONOGRAPHY OF SACRED SPACES"

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
19.11.2009 18:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today, Rossotrudnichestvo (‘Russian Cooperation’)
initiated presentation of a new book, a collection of essays by
leading Russian and foreign researchers "New Jerusalem. Hierotopy and
iconography of sacred spaces " at the the National Academy of Sciences
of Armenia (NAS RA). Alexei Lidov is the editor and compiler of the
book. Book is an international project and Alexei Lidov worked for
it for 8 years.

The book is part of a larger program to study the meaningful
foundations of Eastern Christian culture and is devoted to the theme of
transference of sacred spaces and tradition of creating images of the
Holy Land. In their works, the authors of articles explore the culture
and art from the first centuries of Christianity to modern times.

Armenian libraries will receive only 30 copies of the book. The article
of the professor of Institute of Arts Armen Ghazarian ‘New Jerusalem
in spatial concepts and architectural forms in medieval Armenia’
is included in the collection.

In his presentation about famous Armenologist – Byzantologist,
translator of Armenian historiographic works of the Middle Ages, doctor
of historical sciences Karen Yuzbashyan, Alexei Lidov particularly
stressed, that Yuzbashyan symbolized the unity of the Armenian and
Russian cultures.

Alexei Lidov, a UNESCO expert, worked at major universities and
research centers around the world. Alexei Lidov initiated the
development of integrated scientific and cultural program "christian
relics", which organizes exhibitions, international conferences,
publishes books. Alexei Lidov is author of 20 books.

RALPH YIRIKIAN GIVES LECTURE FOR FLEX PROGRAM GRADUATES

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.11.2009 13:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ VivaCell-MTS, subsidiary of "Mobile TeleSystems"
OJSC, announces that Thursday the Company’s General Manager Ralph
Yirikian delivered a lecture on the culture of management during the
meeting with the graduates of the Flex program.

Flex is an educational program implemented in Armenia under the
sponsorship of US government, which gives young Armenians an
opportunity to live and to get their high school education in the US.

The graduate students of the program, who return to Armenia, are
particularly interested in the experience of management culture at
successful companies.

VivaCell-MTS denies the approach of criticizing without offering
something instead. Everyone at the Company knows that productive team
work presupposes that employees are provided with proper working
conditions and guarantees for safety. Nobody should be neglected,
and the motivation system should be put in place.

A manager should lead by example and the respect, law and requirements
should be practiced from top to bottom. Any company that wants to
succeed should be guided by this model," mentioned VivaCell-MTS
General Manager Ralph Yirikian.

VivaCell-MTS General Manager encouraged the US high school graduates
not to succumb to excessive bureaucracy and not to diminish the
importance of employer-employee relations. Among the principles of
good management are the long-term strategies, the values of respect
and hard-work, readiness for cooperation and responsibility, the
vision for future and innovations, as well the particular attention to
activities that are based on the concept of corporate responsibility.

After the lecture, the gathered got a chance to receive answers to
the questions about the activities of Armenia’s leading mobile

ARMENIA SLIDES TO LOWER POSITION IN 2009 CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX, ACCORDING TO ANNUAL LIST OF TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

Noyan Tapan
Nov 18, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, NOYAN TAPAN. Out of the 180 countries on the
Transparency International’s list, the Corruption Perception Indices
(CPI) of 129 countries are lower than 5 (in a 10-point system),
Chairwoman of the Transparency International’s Armenian branch Amalia
Kostanian and Executive Director Varuzhan Hoktanian announced at
the November 17 press conference. A. Kostanian explained that CPI
is an index calculated through surveys conducted by a number of
authoritative international organizations. It shows the level of
corruption perception by citizens surveyed in the given country.

According to A. Kostanian, unstable states hit by war or an armed
conflict have the lowest CPIs. These countries are Somalia – 1.1,
Afghanistan – 1.3, Myanmar – 1.4, also Sudan and Iraq – 1.5. Among
countries with the highest indices are New Zealand- 9.4, Denmark –
9.3, Singapore and Sweden – 9.2, and Switzerland – 9.

V. Hoktanian said that Estonia with a CPI of 6.6 is the leader among
former Soviet republics. This year progress was made by Georgia
(its CPI increased from 3.9 to 4.1) and Azerbaijan (from 1.9 to 2.4).

Armenia slid to a bit lower position in its index (from 2.9 to 2.7).

In the words of V. Hoktanian, at the present time the situation
in former Soviet countries is worse than in African countries that
suffered from civil war.