Author: Ekmekjian Janet

Baku is building hills. Shahnazaryan reveals the “secret” of the Dushanbe meeting

Ekmekjian Janet
  • 04.12.2018

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  • Armenia:

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  • arm

1
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There have been changes in the line of contact between Azerbaijan and Artsakh. The Azerbaijani side is building hills of offensive significance, and an agreement was reached in Dushanbe for the uninterrupted implementation of construction works. Davit Shahnazaryan, nominated by the RPA proportional list, announced this at the press conference called today.


“Since May, an attempt was made to build some hills there, but due to the constant blocking fire, those construction works were stopped. They are hills at a distance of 1300-1700 meters from the contact line, up to 5 km apart and practically along the entire contact line. After September 27, these construction works are being carried out with great momentum, one part of the hills is already ready, the other part is under construction.”


Davit Shahnazaryan showed the pictures of those hills, said that there is a greater density where the relief is completely flat, in the part of the attack that is very dangerous for armored vehicles. The height of the hills is from 11 to 15 meters. He urged to go to Artsakh and see all that with his own eyes. Shahnazaryan presented the opinion of military experts about these hills and what they are for.


“Buildings of this type generally have a double meaning for both defense and attack. Taking into account both the policy of the Armenian parties in the sense that no attack is planned and the policy of Azerbaijan, which talks about a new war day and night, such costly hills have an absolutely offensive significance.


The curt man, as the current prime minister called Aliyev, continues his same rhetoric, continues his “constructive” and “building” policies, and if these hills in Nakhichevan will hit us at the ixth moment, then in Artsakh they are absolutely for preparing for an attack. Our prime minister did not make any statement regarding Kirt man, he did not speak at all. After his meeting in the elevator on September 27, he does not say any critical words about the politics of Azerbaijan.”


According to Shahnazaryan, Aliyev is preparing an attack on Artsakh from his side, and Pashinyan has launched a political attack on the military leadership of Artsakh from this side. “I am far from thinking that this is a consequence of so-called inexperience. This is a policy, for which some forces contributed to him coming to power.”


He said that the Dushanbe agreement was for Azerbaijan to continue these works.

‘We are not them’: NSW Liberals distance themselves from Victorian loss

Ekmekjian Janet
The Guardian(London)
November 26, 2018 Monday 5:00 PM GMT
‘We are not them’: NSW Liberals distance themselves from Victorian loss
Berejiklian government has done a better job of avoiding ‘culture wars bullshit’, one MP says
 
by Michael McGowan
 
 
The New South Wales government has sought to distance itself from the rest of the Liberal party in the wake of the party’s disastrous result in the Victorian state election, with a senior minister declaring “we are not them” and another MP labelling the Victorian Liberals’ campaign “manifestly inadequate”.
 
After the Victorian Labor government’s comprehensive victory in the state election on the weekend attention has quickly turned to what the result could mean for NSW, where the Liberal state government will go to the polls seeking a third term next March.
 
In response, the NSW government has wasted no time differentiating itself from interstate and federal colleagues. On Sunday the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, pointedly suggested that the prime minister, Scott Morrison, would not be needed during the campaign, saying her government would stand “on its own two feet”.
 
But in interviews with half a dozen state government ministers, MPs and senior staff from both moderate and conservative camps on Monday, the general consensus was that the party in NSW had less to fear from the Victorian result than the federal government.
 
That’s because, as one MP put it to Guardian Australia, the government in NSW has done a better job of avoiding “the culture wars bullshit” than its counterparts elsewhere.
 
“We’re far more centrist than what the Victorians positioned themselves as,” the MP said. “There seemed to be an approach down there of engaging in the culture wars. We’re not immune from that but it’s not part of our day-to-day discourse.”
 
Another senior government figure censured the Victorian Liberals for “demonising” and “targeting” particular migrant groups.
 
“This concern about overpopulation, overdevelopment and migration is coming through all the polling everyone is doing, but the Victorians failed to take the lesson that the public is not targeting any particular type of people, the public is targeting governments.
 
“They’re saying governments are not working hard enough to address the problem. It isn’t about demonising one group, it’s looking at it from a macro policy level.”
 
The Victorian Liberals took a particularly hard-nosed conservative agenda to the election, promoting policies such as boot camps for young offenders, jail for breaching bail, the closure of safe injecting rooms, as well as stoking fears about “gangs”.
 
The platform turned out to be a failure, with voters in Victoria preferring the incumbent Labor government’s focus on transport infrastructure and popular health policies such as free dental care for public school students.
 
In NSW, the government has seized on concerns about population and migration. In October Berejiklian called for a return to “Howard-era immigration levels”, saying migrant levels had been allowed to “balloon out of control”.
 
And the government has its own problems: voter frustration because of congestion caused in part by infrastructure delays, and a feeling – borne out most visibly by its decision to allow an advertisement for a horse race on the sails of the Sydney Opera House – that its agenda is too easily led by radio shock jocks such as Ray Hadley and Alan Jones.
 
But, as one minister put it to Guardian Australia, Berejiklian – herself the daughter of Armenian migrants – has done a better job of talking about issues such as migration without stoking division. “Gladys can talk about migration without sounding like a racist or a xenophobe because she isn’t one,” the minister said.
 
On Monday the NSW transport minister, Andrew Constance, from the same moderate faction as Berejiklian, told reporters in Sydney that the “progressive” NSW government had similarities to the Labor government in Victoria.
 
“We’re not the commonwealth, we’re not Victoria, we’re very different,” he said. “We’re doing things differently. We’re a progressive, accountable, mojo state where we’ve got great outcomes happening for everyone.
 
“The Victorian government has been building infrastructure. Look at this state. We’re one of the best infrastructure jurisdictions in the world. We’ve got to stay the course.”
 
Others put the blame more explicitly on the Victorian Liberal party. The NSW upper house Liberal MP Peter Phelps told Guardian Australia the campaign in Victoria had been “manifestly inadequate”.
 
“What was their campaign message? I’m a political junkie and I have no idea what it was,” he said of the Victorian campaign. “In relation to what NSW can learn it is this: people don’t give a damn about ideology provided that you are meeting their needs.”
 
He said the Labor victory in Victoria “makes me feel more confident about a Coalition win in NSW”, because of the state’s low unemployment, new housing growth and improvements in transport infrastructure.
 
Like all the other government figures the Guardian Australia spoke to, Phelps was less concerned about the result in Victoria than the possibility of voters taking out their frustration with the federal government on the NSW government.
 
Phelps, a former staffer to seven federal Liberal MPs who lost his own preselection battle at the weekend, has been an outspoken member of the government.
 
In October, he tweeted that the prime minister, Scott Morrison, should call an early election and get “smashed” at the polls in order to save bigger losses at the state level.
 
On Monday he told Guardian Australia comment had been made out of “frustration” but that there was “no doubt” the federal party was “damaging the ‘Liberal’ brand”.
 
He said Morrison’s response after Wentworth – which he characterised as ‘we don’t need to change anything’ – was “the catalyst” for that damage.
 
“The feds being on the nose was only an incidental factor in Victoria, but it nevertheless exists,” he said.
 
“Of course they won’t go early – they’ll hang on till grim death hoping for an electoral miracle. In the meantime, it only needs two in 50 voters to mistakenly take our their frustration at the fed Libs on the state Libs and we are toast.”
 
 

Verelq: The RA President is leaving for Germany on an official visit

Ekmekjian Janet
  • 27.11.2018

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  • Armenia:

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  • arm

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  • rus

1
 59

At the invitation of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the President of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Sargsyan, along with his wife Nune Sargsyan, will leave for an official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany on November 27. This was reported by the RA President’s Office.


Within the scope of the visit, the President of the Republic will have meetings with the highest leadership of the GDR, the Chancellor Angela Merkel, president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Schäuble with Many issues related to the cooperation agenda and prospects of the two countries will be at the core of the discussions at the meetings.


During the visit, President Sargsyan will meet with German businessmen operating in Armenia and interested in cooperation with Armenia. Discussions will be held on the investment and business environment in Armenia, the development opportunities of Armenian-German economic cooperation.


The President of the Republic will participate in the discussion organized by the Munich International Security Forum, and will also visit the German Red Cross organization, which has been carrying out quite effective activities in Armenia especially in the last 30 years.


As part of the official visit, the president will visit Saxony-Anhalt, where he is scheduled to meet with the head of the regional government, Rainer Hazeloff.


The agenda of the official visit of the President of Armenia also includes visits to a number of scientific, educational and scientific and technical institutions of the GDR. Armen Sargsyan will deliver lectures at the Bertelsmann Foundation, Otto von Guerike University.


The President of the Republic will attend the concert of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Armenia dedicated to the 115th anniversary of the great Armenian composer Aram Khachatryan at the famous Konzerthaus Berlin, with the participation of famous violinist Sergey Khachatryan.

German Red Cross funds renovation of a clinic in Armenia’s Gyumri

Ekmekjian Janet
Public Radio of Armenia
Nov 28 2018
German Red Cross funds renovation of a clinic in Armenia’s Gyumri 
          
2018-11-28 13:51:32

In the evening of November 27, President Armen Sarkissian and Mrs. Nouneh Sarkissian visited the headquarters of the German Red Cross in Berlin.

The German Red Cross, which is providing humanitarian assistance all over the world in the areas affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts, started its activities in Armenia in 1988, right after the earthquake in Spitak. The organization actively participated in the rescue works and later, in cooperation with the Armenian Red Cross, provided large-scale and many-sided assistance to the affected population.

President Armen Sarkissian met with the President of the German Red Cross Gerda Hasselfeldt, expressed gratitude for landing a hand at that difficult time for the Armenian people.


 At the meeting with the staff of the organization, President of Armenia, speaking about the devastating earthquake, which took place 30 years ago and its dire consequences, loss of human lives and people who became homeless, noted,

“All that was very sad and tragic, but over these 30 years there have also been very humane, touching stories about human love, care, attention and lack of indifference,” President Sarkissian said, speaking of the earthquake.

“We, those living in Armenia and Armenians all over the world, will never forget warmth, attention, and human attitude which our friends in the world, also from this wonderful country manifested towards Armenia and the Armenian people,” the President said.

“I am here to convey the words of gratitude on my personal behalf and on behalf of the entire Armenian nation,”Armen Sarkissian added.

At the meeting, President Sarkissian handed Armenian state awards and souvenirs to a group of employees of the German Red Cross. For the practical participation and tireless humanitarian activities aimed at the mitigation of the devastating Spitak earthquake, Deputy Secretary General of the German Red Cross Johannes Richter was awarded the Mkhitar Heratsi medal, and German Red Cross representatives Zigrfid Hetmannschperger and Carl-Heinz Scheiden were awarded Medals of Gratitude.

At the conclusion of the event, President of the German Red Cross Gerda Hasselfeldt handed to the spouse of the President, Mrs. Nouneh Sarkissian a certificate for 10 thousand Euros which will be used to renovate the “Berlin” outpatient clinic in Gyumri.

Azerbaijani press: Analyst: Armenians often stand at head of many criminal cash withdrawal groups in Russia

Ekmekjian Janet
29 November 2018 20:51 (UTC+04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 29

By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:

The investigation of German journalists about the links of the Armenian mafia in Europe with the Armenian Foreign Ministry shouldn’t be surprising, because this is true, Yevgeny Mikhailov, a famous Russian TV anchor and political analyst, told Trend.

He was commenting on the information published Nov. 28 on the website “Crime Russia”, based on the investigation carried out by Der Spiegel and MDR TV Channel in this regard.

Results of a journalistic investigation carried out by Der Spiegel and MDR TV Channel implying that high-ranked Armenian diplomats ‘patronize’ ‘Armenian mafia’ operating in Germany under the leadership of thieves-in-law compromised the reputation of the local Armenian diaspora, sparked lawsuits, and caused diplomatic tensions between the two countries, according to the website.

“In early November, Der Spiegel weekly newspaper and the Thuringian branch of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk TV Company have partially published results of their joint journalistic investigation based on the 19-page report produced by the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA), thus, announcing the forthcoming premiere of a documentary entitled “Godfathers in Germany — Armenian Mafia and thieves-in-law” (Paten in Deutschland — die armenische Mafia und die Diebe im Gesetz),” the website reported.

“According to the journalists, a well-conspired and sophisticated ‘Armenian mafia’ network infiltrates a number of big German cities running various illegal businesses, including credit frauds, counterfeiting of money, laundering of criminal proceeds, racketeering, drug trafficking, and prostitution,” the report said.

The publication drew attention to the fact that the Armenian Foreign Ministry often fell into extremely ambiguous situations from the time of Serzh Sargsyan’s rule, Mikhailov said.

He noted that cases of interaction between Serzh Sargsyan and thieves in law have long been known, and it is no secret that many of the authorities were hiding in Armenia after the persecution began in Russia.

“Money laundering, drugs, smuggling, prostitution are only a small part of the Armenian mafia’s activities around the world,” Mikhailov said. “The fact that the German special services started the investigation shows that they are interacting with Russian colleagues who have already gained successful experience in combating criminal ethnic groups. In Russia, Armenians also often stand at the head of many criminal groups that withdraw cash money and are engaged in other criminal activities.”

—

Follow the author on Twitter: @MatanatNasibova


Armenpress: Armenia, Cyprus to cooperate in mutual protection of confidential information

Ekmekjian Janet

Armenia, Cyprus to cooperate in mutual protection of confidential information

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12:09, 29 November, 2018

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government approved the draft decree of the President on approving the agreement on the Mutual Protection of Confidential Information between Armenia and Cyprus, reports Armenpress.

The issue has been presented by Director of the National Security Service of Armenia Artur Vanetsyan during today’s Cabinet meeting.

According to the explanation, Armenia attaches great importance to the strengthening, constant development of inter-state relations with Cyprus at bilateral and multilateral formats.

“The ratification of the agreement will contribute to ensuring mutual protection of confidential information between Armenia and Cyprus transformed and received during the bilateral cooperation”, stated in the explanation.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




Armenian Foreign Ministry: No Armenians among Aleppo chemical attack victims

Ekmekjian Janet
News.am, Armenia
Nov 26 2018
Armenian Foreign Ministry: No Armenians among Aleppo chemical attack victims Armenian Foreign Ministry: No Armenians among Aleppo chemical attack victims

19:37, 25.11.2018
                  

There are no Armenians among the citizens affected by the chemical attack in Aleppo, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan told Armenian News – NEWS.am.

“According to the preliminary data of the Armenian Consulate General in Aleppo, there are no Armenians among the victims,” she said.

Earlier it was reported that more than 100 people were treated at hospitals for a suspected poison gas attack in the northern city of Aleppo.

Bolton’s Mission to the South Caucasus

Ekmekjian Janet
American Thinker
Nov 23 2018


By Paul Miller

Amid the continuing clamor of the midterm elections, the Trump administration is confronting Russia and Iran as they continue to bite into the liberties and order we enjoy, either through terrorism or by destabilizing whole regions of the globe.

In particular, National Security Advisor John Bolton recently visited the South Caucasus region of Europe and Asia. After a bizarre Obama-imposed stint in the cold, allies Azerbaijan and Georgia are back as priorities while Armenia is on notice with some forthright realities.

Bolton told the Armenian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: “We are going to squeeze Iran because we think their behavior in the Middle East and, really globally, is malign and needs to be changed.”

Accenting the geopolitical/strategic importance of the region situated adjacent to Russia and Iran, Bolton held frank and substantive consultations with the leaders of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. In Armenia’s case, though, the talks were characterized as “tough.”  

The South Caucasus, literally at the crossroads of East and West, is key to these U.S. plans. The region, particularly Azerbaijan, is vital to the energy diversity and security of Europe and Western markets, holding much of the Western-friendly portion of vast oil and gas resources in the Caspian Basin.  Azerbaijan is also the only nation to border both Iran and Russia, as well as enjoying a stable, Western-oriented and emerging democratic government. Important, too, Azerbaijan is one of the few Muslim-majority nations (though staunchly secular) on which the U.S. and even Israel can truly depend.  

In general, Bolton’s discussions ranged from how to reinvigorate and enhance already significant strategic partnerships in the case of Azerbaijan and Georgia, to how the U.S. may assist Armenia in extricating itself from its current status as a vassal of Moscow and its deep dependence on the mullahs in Tehran.

Clearly, Ambassador Bolton’s agenda with each nation includes renewed sanctions on Iran and ways to forestall Russian irredentism and neo-imperialism. Armenian leadership was heard referring to the current and upcoming sanctions on both Iran and Russia as “misguided,” “foolish” and “unwise.”

Thought by most observers as being genuinely understanding of Armenia’s ominous economic, geographic, and geopolitical/strategic circumstances, Bolton maintained his and the Trump administration’s customary straightforwardness. Although this seems to have rankled many in Armenia, it did give leaders of the entire region an accurate, unvarnished picture of U.S. positions on a range of issues.

Long suffering from economic and geopolitical isolation stemming from the now 25-year-old Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) war, Armenia won key battles in the 1990s with the help of Soviet Army troops and the materiel support of Iran. However, it unquestionably lost the peace.

Armenia’s unreasoning desire to maintain its hold on Nagorno-Karabakh, a region internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, leaves only a border with Iran accessible — Azerbaijan and fraternal Turkey closed their borders in response to ethnic cleansing and wholesale murder of Azeris at the hands of Armenians.

Consequently, in order to illegally occupy Nagorno-Karabakh with near impunity, Armenia mortgaged its future to Russia. Yerevan can no longer live without Moscow’s support politically, in terms of weapons, and weighty and regular infusions of funds. Thus, Armenia has de facto become a vassal state of Russia, doing their bidding and voting as Moscow orders in international forums, in return for Moscow’s support on this one issue.    

Ambassador Bolton presented Armenian leaders with a feasible and practical solution, explicitly taking away the issue that keeps Armenia so indebted and obligated to Moscow and Tehran.

Making peace with Azerbaijan would finally put the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to bed. In doing so, the solitary nation would immediately open itself up to world markets and possibly to the numerous large-scale oil and gas infrastructure projects that have brought such wealth to its neighbors Georgia and Azerbaijan. Strikingly, Ambassador Bolton conveyed that the U.S. would support Armenia in this endeavor.

Bolton told RFE/RL that “current circumstances” highlight the importance of Armenia and Azerbaijan “finding a mutually satisfactory agreement to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.”  Further, “Once that happened, then the Armenian-Azerbaijani border would open,” said Bolton, adding, “The Turkish border, I believe, would almost certainly open.”

Bolton acknowledged that he understood why Armenia needed Iran, but asserted that the solution was to end the conflict with Azerbaijan.

So, the door to peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan ostensibly remains open. So, too, does the door to freedom for Armenia and stability in the region. A valuable byproduct would be to restrain the freewheeling of Russia and Iran.

Paul Miller is president and executive director of the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center. Follow him on twitter @pauliespoint.

Amid the continuing clamor of the midterm elections, the Trump administration is confronting Russia and Iran as they continue to bite into the liberties and order we enjoy, either through terrorism or by destabilizing whole regions of the globe.

In particular, National Security Advisor John Bolton recently visited the South Caucasus region of Europe and Asia. After a bizarre Obama-imposed stint in the cold, allies Azerbaijan and Georgia are back as priorities while Armenia is on notice with some forthright realities.

Bolton told the Armenian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: “We are going to squeeze Iran because we think their behavior in the Middle East and, really globally, is malign and needs to be changed.”

Accenting the geopolitical/strategic importance of the region situated adjacent to Russia and Iran, Bolton held frank and substantive consultations with the leaders of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. In Armenia’s case, though, the talks were characterized as “tough.”  

The South Caucasus, literally at the crossroads of East and West, is key to these U.S. plans. The region, particularly Azerbaijan, is vital to the energy diversity and security of Europe and Western markets, holding much of the Western-friendly portion of vast oil and gas resources in the Caspian Basin.  Azerbaijan is also the only nation to border both Iran and Russia, as well as enjoying a stable, Western-oriented and emerging democratic government. Important, too, Azerbaijan is one of the few Muslim-majority nations (though staunchly secular) on which the U.S. and even Israel can truly depend.  

In general, Bolton’s discussions ranged from how to reinvigorate and enhance already significant strategic partnerships in the case of Azerbaijan and Georgia, to how the U.S. may assist Armenia in extricating itself from its current status as a vassal of Moscow and its deep dependence on the mullahs in Tehran.

Clearly, Ambassador Bolton’s agenda with each nation includes renewed sanctions on Iran and ways to forestall Russian irredentism and neo-imperialism. Armenian leadership was heard referring to the current and upcoming sanctions on both Iran and Russia as “misguided,” “foolish” and “unwise.”

Thought by most observers as being genuinely understanding of Armenia’s ominous economic, geographic, and geopolitical/strategic circumstances, Bolton maintained his and the Trump administration’s customary straightforwardness. Although this seems to have rankled many in Armenia, it did give leaders of the entire region an accurate, unvarnished picture of U.S. positions on a range of issues.

Long suffering from economic and geopolitical isolation stemming from the now 25-year-old Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) war, Armenia won key battles in the 1990s with the help of Soviet Army troops and the materiel support of Iran. However, it unquestionably lost the peace.

Armenia’s unreasoning desire to maintain its hold on Nagorno-Karabakh, a region internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, leaves only a border with Iran accessible — Azerbaijan and fraternal Turkey closed their borders in response to ethnic cleansing and wholesale murder of Azeris at the hands of Armenians.

Consequently, in order to illegally occupy Nagorno-Karabakh with near impunity, Armenia mortgaged its future to Russia. Yerevan can no longer live without Moscow’s support politically, in terms of weapons, and weighty and regular infusions of funds. Thus, Armenia has de facto become a vassal state of Russia, doing their bidding and voting as Moscow orders in international forums, in return for Moscow’s support on this one issue.    

Ambassador Bolton presented Armenian leaders with a feasible and practical solution, explicitly taking away the issue that keeps Armenia so indebted and obligated to Moscow and Tehran.

Making peace with Azerbaijan would finally put the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to bed. In doing so, the solitary nation would immediately open itself up to world markets and possibly to the numerous large-scale oil and gas infrastructure projects that have brought such wealth to its neighbors Georgia and Azerbaijan. Strikingly, Ambassador Bolton conveyed that the U.S. would support Armenia in this endeavor.

Bolton told RFE/RL that “current circumstances” highlight the importance of Armenia and Azerbaijan “finding a mutually satisfactory agreement to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.”  Further, “Once that happened, then the Armenian-Azerbaijani border would open,” said Bolton, adding, “The Turkish border, I believe, would almost certainly open.”

Bolton acknowledged that he understood why Armenia needed Iran, but asserted that the solution was to end the conflict with Azerbaijan.

So, the door to peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan ostensibly remains open. So, too, does the door to freedom for Armenia and stability in the region. A valuable byproduct would be to restrain the freewheeling of Russia and Iran.

Paul Miller is president and executive director of the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center. Follow him on twitter @pauliespoint.


Sports: Henrikh Mkhitaryan included in the Nations League symbolic team

Ekmekjian Janet
Panorama, Armenia
Nov 23 2018

The captain of the Armenian national team, Arsenal midfielder, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, has been included in the symbolic team of the Nations League Division D group phase, by Whoscored.com. index. He was awarded 7.77 points.

During the group tournament six matches, Mkhitaryan scored one goal and made four goal transfers. The team of Macedonia leads Group D.

Michael Kouchakdjian: EPIC’s goal is to guide startups to the next level of growth

Ekmekjian Janet
iTel.am, Armenia
Nov 19 2018

Professor Michael Kouchakdjian is the newly appointed director of the Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center at AUA (EPIC), as well as Professor in the American University of Armenia’s (AUA) College of Business and Economics teaching Management and Entrepreneurship.

Dr. Kouchakdjian has considerable start-up and venture experience in both Armenia and the U.S.

Itel.am has talked with Michael Kouchakdjian on EPIC’s plans and Armenian tech developments in general.

You were appointed as the director of EPIC this April. What’s unique about EPIC and where do you want to take the center?

We are trying to get EPIC to a higher level in terms of quality, capacity, and opportunity. The short-term goals are to improve our programs to the level of the best university-based incubators overseas. We have done analysis of the ecosystem in Armenia and have determined EPIC’s positioning and strategy within the ecosystem. The goal is to be a valuable asset to the ecosystem, to complement existing capabilities, and to help business growth in Armenia. The strategy will be implemented by working with early stage startups to help them validate their ideas and move their ventures forward.

AUA has unique resources and capabilities that no other incubators or accelerators in Armenia possess. For instance, we have numerous courses in innovation, entrepreneurship, and start-ups taught by professors from both Armenia and abroad. According to a survey we recently conducted, 25 professors at AUA have been involved in starting or building a company, advising a venture, or financing one. So in AUA we have so much knowledge and experience that we can use to teach, mentor and advise the start-up teams of EPIC.

AUA now has 4000+ alumni which is a unique resource. 70 percent of the alumni are based in Armenia. Many are entrepreneurs. For instance, the 3 leading entrepreneurs from what is arguably the most successful startup from Armenia, PicsArt, are AUA graduates. Many of our other alumni are spread around the world — some of them are successful entrepreneurs as well. They want to engage with EPIC and help our start-up teams with contacts from their worldwide network.

EPIC had two startup batches since its establishment in 2016. And even those students who were in our previous batches still consider EPIC and AUA their home and we continue to help them in every way that we can.

What is going to be different for EPIC’s fall batch?

We welcomed the new batch on October 1. Our new program is going to be a bit more formal and disciplined. We are providing the participants with weekly workshops and weekly discussions with entrepreneur leaders from Armenia and abroad. The mentoring will also be more engaged.

14:05 | 25.10.18

At EPIC, we want to involve not only AUA students but also others. A minimum of one person from each startup team is required to be an AUA student or graduate. Everyone else can be from outside the university. For instance, we even had one guy from last year’s batch who is a high school student.

What do the teams get during 12 weeks of acceleration?

Our initial goal is to prepare startups as advancing and high quality ventures that can go to the next level of development and growth. They get 24/7 access to our facilities, the prototyping labs, access to mentors, and active coaching. And, if a few of them are showing extremely good potential, we can consider supporting them with investment.

We also have a sophisticated prototyping lab in AUA as part of EPIC, with very advanced equipment to do prototyping and product engineering. Some of the capabilities of the lab are unique in Armenia such as our 3D laser scanner or our vacuum casting machine. Our students and our start-up teams use them to make their own prototypes. Access to the EPIC prototyping lab is also available to commercial users and businesses as a service.

AUA and EPIC also has a network of potential investors from outside Armenia. We help them identify investable ventures. AUA has been in Armenia for 27 years, and many look to the university for guidance. Many Armenians and non-Armenians from overseas want to do projects through AUA.

One of our EPIC graduate teams, Breedge, recently went to Seattle to participate in the Global Finals of the Microsoft Imagine Cup. AUA helped them to set up meetings in Silicon Valley with universities and entrepreneurs. For instance, they visited San Jose State University (SJSU), with whom AUA has a collaboration agreement. The career center at SJSU expressed interest in Breedge’s technology and asked to remain apprised of its development.

Besides the acceleration program, which other directions EPIC is looking at?

Now we are working on creating an investment fund, which will likely happen next year.

There are two other areas we want to focus on. We get inquiries from the diaspora’s early stage entrepreneurial ventures that want to have some representation in Armenia and they want to do it through AUA and EPIC. That’s a new area for us to consider. Those companies got more interested in Armenia after the velvet revolution, I suppose. People are feeling more and more comfortable to open an office here or for investing in a startup based in Armenia.

Another area we want to develop is cooperation with other universities in Armenia to help them to create incubators and accelerators within their institutions. We have invited representatives from universities in Yerevan, Artsakh and the regions to observe and get involved in our recent batch of ventures so they can see how we do things.

What are your thoughts about current developments in Armenian tech?

I think there is accelerating growth and potential, albeit from a relatively small base. The biggest challenge is human capital and maintaining an advanced workforce. We have to figure out how to retain the best specialists in Armenia. We all know the intensity of global competition for the best and brightest.

Technical knowledge in Armenia is very good but perhaps for starting and developing companies we need more expertise in management. AUA can provide this.

We are very optimistic about all what’s going on in Armenia, and as an educational institution, AUA is ready to work with everyone. Our goal is to do everything we can to help educate and train people in the new Armenia.

Narine Daneghyan talked to Michael Kouchakdjian