Author: Boris Nahapetian

Armenia presents its information technology adavnces at Orion summit in Yerevan

Boris Nahapetian


  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Orion technology summit in Armenia

“Armenia has a great potential for success in the field of information technology”, both the organizers of the Orion Summit technology conference and its participants declared one after another.

The founders and representatives of foreign tech giants have arrived to participate in the summit.

The event is organized by the Orion Worldwide Innovations Center for Startup Growth and Connected Ecosystems.

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Orion Summit is held for the first time. The goal of the technology summit is to support Armenian startups and to give them the opportunity meet the world’s largest tech companies.

During the conference, the most relevant topics for the development of the IT sector, and the techno sector were discussed. The participants of the summit paid special attention to the possibilities of creating future Armenian Unicorn companies (private start-up companies, the value of which exceeds $ 1 billion in 10 years from the moment of their creation). The directions of “development of the fast-growing Armenian market” and the launch of the “Digital Julfa Network” were also discussed.

The Digital Julfa Network initiative, as conceived by its authors, should unite the technological, commercial and cultural potential of Armenia, and help strengthen Armenia’s intellectual position in the world.

“The 300-year-old network of Armenian merchants in New Julfa was a powerful trade route from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean. Now, as an evolution of world-class innovation, we are creating the Digital Julfa Network, which will bring together the technological, financial, business, legal and cultural potential of Armenia,” said Emma Arakelyan, Director and Founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations.

Representatives of both Armenian and leading foreign companies Adobe, SADA, Embodied, cognaize, Scylla, Grand Thornton, Startup Lithuania spoke during the discussions.

As a possible impetus for the rapid development of Armenian startups, the possibility of “mergers and acquisitions” was discussed.

The aim of the organizers and partners of the summit is to achieve global growth through mergers and acquisitions, promote the growth of Armenia’s GDP, and create a model of success for other emerging markets.

About 2,500 companies are registered in the Armenian startup system. The summit participants believe that in the event of a merger and enlargement, they will be able to become more competitive in the international market.

Over the past 2.5 years, the number of electric cars in Armenia has increased significantly. However, experts believe that the government could do more to encourage people to buy them

According to the Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia, Orion Summit is an initiative that really contributes to the development of the information technology sector.

David Sahakyan stressed that the summit has become a platform both for clarifying the problems of the sphere and for a joint search for solutions with international partners. In addition, he said, the event was a good occasion for the department to inform about its programs for the development of the sphere.

In particular, the ministry organizes courses on cybersecurity, blockchain, engineering, artificial intelligence, and technological entrepreneurship.

“We are positioning Armenia based not on today’s needs, but on the basis of future needs”, David Sahakyan stressed.

Orion Worldwide Innovations was founded in 2017 in the USA, and is engaged in the growth and development of startups. With offices in New York and Yerevan, Orion works with organizations around the world, including investor networks.

In 2023, the Orion summit will be held in New York and then in Frankfurt.

https://jam-news.net/armenia-presents-its-information-technology-adavnces-at-orion-summit-in-yerevan/

Analyst: West and Iran managed to make adjustments to the "corridor" logic

Boris Nahapetian
ARMINFO
Armenia –


David Stepanyan

ArmInfo. With the support of the West and Iran, Armenia managed to make adjustments to the “corridor” logic promoted by Azerbaijan since the signing of the tripartite  statement of November 9, 2020. A similar opinion was expressed to  ArmInfo by head of chairman of the “Free Citizen” Civic Initiatives  Support Centre, political analyst Hovsep Khurshudyan.

“Initially, I was convinced that Russia, let’s say, was not at all  against this logic, in fact promising Aliyev a green corridor through  the territory of Armenia. However, it is already clear that the  “simplified regime” of land communication between Azerbaijan and  Nakhichevan, the already agreed railway communications between  Armenia and Azerbaijan, the finalization of other issues of this  case, without any doubt, provides for the recognition of Armenian  sovereignty. And there are no other interpretations here and cannot  be,” he stressed.

In the analyst’s opinion, the change of approaches from corridor to  sovereign ones indicates that the Russian Federation is far from  succeeding in everything that it initially plans to implement in the  South Caucasus. The reason for this is the interests, respectively,  the position of the EU and Iran. Meanwhile, from the very beginning,  it was in Moscow’s interests to provide Azerbaijan with a corridor  through Armenia, which would be under its full border control. In  accordance with the same statement of November 9th.

According to his estimates, initially the Armenian customs control on  the territory of the “corridor” was not envisaged at all. And  Azerbaijani vehicles were supposed to move through the territory of  Armenia exclusively accompanied by Russian border guards. However,  everything changed with unequivocal statements by the US, the EU and  the Russian Federation itself, according to which the deblockade of  communications would take place, taking into account the sovereignty  of the participating states.  “It is clear that Azerbaijan and the  Russian Federation do not like all this. But these are the new  geopolitical realities. Since the fall of 2020, much has changed.  Including in our region.  And the undisguised interest of the West  and Iran in the Syunik region of Armenia is evidenced by the at least  regular visits of EU ambassadors and US ambassadors there. Moreover,  Iran opens a consulate in Meghri. So the situation has already  changed and continues to change further,” the analyst concluded. 

Analyst: In a normal country, Ruben Vardazaryan would already be looking at the sky through prison bars

Boris Nahapetian
ARMINFO
Armenia –


David Stepanyan

ArmInfo. In a normal country, after such a press conference Ruben Vardazaryan would already be looking at the sky through prison bars. A similar opinion was expressed to  ArmInfo by head of the Armenian Institute of International Relations  and Security Stepan Safaryan.

Yesterday, the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council Ruben  Vardazaryan (powers suspended), as evidence of the political  motivation of the criminal case initiated against him, presented a  recording of his conversation with acting Chairman of the Supreme  Council Gagik Jhangiryan. During which Jhangiryan persuades his  interlocutor to leave the post under the guarantee of the absence of  criminal prosecution in the future. According to adviser to the  Prosecutor General of Armenia, Gor Abrahamyan, the recording was sent  to the Investigative Committee “for a complete, objective and  multilateral verification.”

“Vardazaryan’s testimony against himself is extremely surprising. I  can’t say to what extent with this recording he harmed Jhangiryan,  but I can say that he definitely drowned himself. One thing is clear,  the Supreme Judicial Council must be dissolved with such leadership  and such judges, completely, and as soon as possible. With such a  composition of the Supreme Court of Justice, it simply has no right  to exist. The street lexicon, the swear words of these people are a  real disaster for the judicial system. Not to mention their actions  themselves,” he believes.

Safaryan noted that according to the same recording, it is only  Jhangiryan who prevents the initiation of all three criminal cases  instead of only one criminal case against Vardazaryan. Accordingly,  in his opinion with such radical steps, Vardazaryan is trying to drag  all the other people associated with his dark deeds to the bottom.  According to Safaryan, there are a lot of cases, which are on  Vardazaryan’s conscience. Several of which he is preparing to publish  personally.

“One way or another, we learned a lot from the recording: About the  Supreme Judicial Council, about the Armenian judicial system as a  whole, about Jhangiryan, about Vardazaryan himself, about the judge  of the Court of Cassation Stepan Mikayelyan, about how Jangiryan  “suspended” the criminal cases, about how Jhangiryan organized the  army service of Artur Vanetsyan. And I can only guess how many  criminal and civil cases and lawsuits were ” suspended ” in this way  by these “most worthy representatives” of our “fairest” judicial  system in the world,” Safaryan summed up.   -sh-  

Armenia asks Iran to assist in peace treaty with Azerbaijan

Boris Nahapetian
Mehr News Agency
Iran – June 17 2022


TEHRAN, Jun. 17 (MNA) – President of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Roberti Simonyan has called on Tehran to assist in concluding a peace treaty with the Azerbaijan Republic.

President of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Roberti Simonyan met with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran on Thursday afternoon.

In the meeting, Amir-Abdollahian described Armenia as an important friend and neighbor to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The foreign minister also pointed to the high-level political relations between the two countries and stressed the need to enhance bilateral economic cooperation by taking advantage of the two countries’ diverse capacities and capabilities to $1 billion level.

He further described Armenia is an important part of the international Persian Gulf-Black Sea corridor and declared the readiness of Iranian companies to conduct and complete infrastructure projects in Armenia, especially in the field of transportation.

According to Amir-Abdollahian, Iran is ready to use all its capacities and capabilities to resolve the disputes between Armenia and the Azerbaijan Republic.

He referred to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s principled stance in supporting the territorial integrity of the countries in the region, preserving international borders and the need to respect the sovereignty of the regional countries and said that, “Peace and stability in the Caucasus has always been and still is one of the Islamic Republic’s priorities and in this regard, Iran will not hesitate to provide any assistance as in the past to resolve the disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The minister also expressed hope that the second round of talks among the 3 + 3 Format( three countries of the South Caucasus — Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan ) will be held in the Islamic Republic of Iran in the near future.

Alen Roberti Simonyan, for his part, expressed his happiness with the process of expanding relations between the two countries at the bilateral level and in international level as well, and said that, “The Republic of Armenia attaches special importance to the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran as an effective and influential country in the region and pays special attention to the development of relations with Tehran.”

President of the National Assembly of Armenia also emphasized that his country is moving on a peaceful path in the region and called for Islamic Republic of Iran’s assistance to conclude a bilateral peace treaty with the Republic of Azerbaijan.

He also stressed that Yerevan sees no ceiling for expanding cooperation with Iran.

He also called the establishment of the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Armenian Syunik Province as a turning point in the relations between the two countries, and announced the readiness of Armenia to establish a Consulate General in Iran’s Tabriz.

KI/FNA14010326000797

https://en.mehrnews.com/news/188059/Armenia-asks-Iran-to-assist-in-peace-treaty-with-Azerbaijan

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Armenia Seeks Iran Assistance For Peace Treaty With Azerbaijan – Iran Front Page (ifpnews.com)

https://ifpnews.com/armenia-iran-peace-treaty-azerbaijan/

300 sheep which Azerbaijanis snatched from Armenia village shepherd are not returned yet

Boris Nahapetian
News.am
Armenia –
20:12, 19.06.2022

The about 300 sheep which Azerbaijanis had make off with six months ago from Surik Matevosyan, a shepherd from Tegh village of Armenia’s Syunik Province, have not yet been returned, and the Armenian government will compensate 70% of the damage. Tegh prefect Davit Ghulunts told about this to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“Seventy percent of the damage will be compensated, it will be about 10 million drams; that is, they will give money for 280 sheep,” he said.

The aforementioned shepherd is still engaged in cattle breeding. According to the village head, if there is compensation, the shepherd will increase the number of small cattle again.

Ghulunts noted that the situation in Tegh is calm, the villagers continue to do their agricultural work, are engaged in cattle breeding, and there is no emigration from the village at the moment.
Surik Matevosyan, a 53-year-old shepherd from Tegh village, and his about 300 sheep were abducted by Azerbaijanis on January 13. A day later—and as a result of negotiations—Matevosyan was returned to Russian peacekeepers. But his sheep still remain with the Azerbaijanis.

CoE Secretary General arrives at Armenian Foreign Ministry

Boris Nahapetian

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 13:54,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić, who is in Armenia on an official visit, arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia on June 17, the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported.

The CoE Secretary General was greeted by Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan.

Following their meeting, Marija Pejčinović Burić and Ararat Mirzoyan will hold a joint press conference.

Armenia committed to continue the democratic path: PM receives CoE Secretary General

Boris Nahapetian

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 17:34,

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić, the PM’s Office said.

Welcoming the visit of the CoE Secretary General to Armenia, the Prime Minister said that Armenia, as a CoE member state, will continue the democratic path and is attaching importance to the cooperation in the field of protection of human rights, democracy development and development of independent judiciary.

Pashinyan called the work with PACE, ECHR productive and touched upon the issue of the return of Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other civilians held in Azerbaijan, stating that the government is working closely with the ECHR on this direction. The PM highlighted the support of the international community, including that of the CoE to the solution of the issue and thanked the CoE Secretary General for addressing the issue for many times.

Marija Pejčinović Burić said the Council of Europe values the partnership with Armenia, and the purpose of her visit is to further strengthen it. She welcomed Armenia’s democratic reforms, over which the country is registering a visible progress, and highly valued the holding of snap parliamentary elections in 2021 in accordance with the international standards, which were free and competitive.

The sides also touched upon issues on the agenda of the bilateral relations. The discussion also focused on the course and challenges of the reforms in the justice sector. Pashinyan highlighted the importance of raising public trust towards judiciary, and in her turn the CoE Secretary General reaffirmed the readiness to support this process with the CoE consulting assistance, experience and knowledge.

Promoting women engagement into different spheres of public life was also touched upon. The implementation of the Armenia-CoE Partnership Program 2019-2022 was discussed.

Views were exchanged on the domestic and foreign political situation in Armenia, the regional and international security challenges. The importance of dialogue on the path of achieving peace and prosperity was emphasized.

PM Pashinyan presented the positions of Armenia on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border demarcation and delimitation, the activity of the border security commission and the peace agenda, emphasizing the importance of the addressed response of the international community to the provocative statements and actions that distort the regional stability.

Armenia Finance Minister introduces 2021 state budget performance report to Parliament

Boris Nahapetian

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 11:44,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The 2021 state budget revenues increased in Armenia connected with the economy recovery and the growth in tax revenues as a result of it, Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan said while introducing the 2021 state budget performance annual report in the Parliament.

He reminded that the annual economic growth, which was initially planned to be 3.2%, comprised 5.7%. “The economic growth was mostly connected with the growth in services, which have formed the 4 percentage point. Half of the growth has been ensured by accommodation and catering services. The impact of the industry growth has been 0.8%”, the minister said.

However, the cut in agriculture negatively affected the economic growth, as the overall growth figure has been cut by 0.2%.

“In 2021 the state budget revenues of Armenia increased connected with the recovery of the economy and the growth in tax revenues as a result. The total revenues of the budget comprised 1 trillion 683,8 billion drams, increasing 7.9% compared to the previous year, the revenue performance to the adjusted program comprised 99.6%. 94.2% of the revenues has been formed by tax revenues – 1 trillion 587 billion drams, which is the 22.7% of the GDP of 2021”, he said.

The taxes increased by 14.6% compared to the same period of the previous year. The budget’s tax revenue plan has been fulfilled by 100.2%.

The taxes-GDP rate increased by 0.3%, reaching 22.7%.

As for the capital expenditures, the performance has registered the highest growth compared to the past year – 92.5%. Compared to 2020, the current expenditures have increased by nearly 120 billion drams or 7.2%.

With the results of 2021, the government debt to GDP comprised 60.3%, which has improved by 3.2% compared to the previous year.

Armenian President to pay working visit to Russia

Boris Nahapetian

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 18:43,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan will pay a working visit to Russia on June 15-17, ARMENPRESS was informed from the President’s Office, adding that Vahagn Khachaturyan will take part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Within the framework of the visit, President Vahagn Khachaturyan is scheduled to meet with the leaders of the participating states.

Vahagn Khachaturyan will also meet with representatives of the Armenian community in St. Petersburg.