Author: Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS

Over 100,000 Russian Citizens Move To Live In Armenia By 2022 – Minister of Economy

Emil Lazarian
FGN – Fresh Google News

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – March 16th, 2023) About 110,000 Russians will move to Armenia for permanent residence in 2022 amid the conflict in Ukraine and the partial mobilization of their homeland, the Minister of Armenian Economy Vahan Kerobyan on Thursday.

“The clean relocation is about 108,000-110,000 citizens in 2022. That is how many Russians came to Armenia and stayed permanently. In addition, about 2,500 legal entities with Russian participants were opened last year, out of 4,000 businesses registered in the form of individual entrepreneurs . . . ,” Kerobyan told Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper.

The minister added that on average, Russians open 500 businesses in Armenia every year.

“The companies are very different in terms of size, in some of them the staff consists of 600-700 employees, in others there is one person working.

The additional inflow of customer funds into the Armenian banking system was $3 billion last year,” Kerobyan said.

These factors accounted for almost a quarter of Armenia’s GDP growth, which was more than 3% at 12.6%, the minister specified.

After the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine in February and the declaration of the subsequent partial mobilization of the country in September, many Russian citizens, including highly-qualified personnel, moved to foreign countries, especially Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. ..

Russian Cultural Center Opens In Armenian Resort Town Of Tsaghkadzor

Emil Lazarian

 Fahad Shabbir

YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 18th March, 2023) A new Russian cultural center was opened in the Armenian resort town of Tsaghkadzor during the meeting of the Armenian-Russian inter-parliamentary commission on cooperation, the Moscow House hub in Yerevan said on Friday.

“On March 17, the opening of the new Russian center took place at the Youth Art school of the town of Tsaghkadzor on the initiative of the Moscow Cultural and Business Center ‘Moscow House’ in Yerevan, with the assistance of the Mayor’s Office of Tsaghkadzor and with the financial support of the Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly (upperhouse), co-chairman of the Russian part of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission, Hero of Russia Yuri Vorobyov,” the Moscow House said on Telegram.

The opening ceremony was attended by participants of the 36th meeting of the inter-parliamentary commission, including Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin and Armenian Ambassador to Russia Vagharshak Harutyunyan, representatives of public organizations, scientists and cultural figures. The red ribbon was cut by Vorobyov and Deputy Chairman of Armenia’s parliament and co-chairman of the Armenian part of the commission Hakob Arshakyan. In their welcoming speeches, they underlined how important such institutions were for strengthening and developing educational and cultural cooperation between Armenia and Russia.

“We are very pleased that here, in this beautiful resort town, the Russian center has opened, which will give everyone an opportunity to get familiar with Russian culture.

This small but warm and hospitable part of our country and your city, I hope, will convey all the warmth of our love for you, for all Armenians. We are doing everything possible to strengthen friendship between Russia and Armenia, so that our countries and peoples follow the same path and achieve the best results,” Vorobyov said, as quoted by the Moscow House.

Arshakyan, in turn, said that the Russian language was necessary not only for communication between Russians and Armenians but also for studying various kinds of scientific and fiction literature, as well as for establishing cultural, business and educational ties between peoples and countries.

“In this context, the opening of the Russian center is an important and necessary initiative aimed at developing our relations,” he added.

The Russian center in Tsaghkadzor became the ninth Russian center opened in Armenia. This year, more Russian centers will open in the cities of Meghri, Kapan, Goris and Gyumri. The activities of such institutions are aimed at popularizing the Russian language, literature, culture and history, giving local residents the opportunity to get familiar with modern Russia through video materials and online resources. The centers also hold various creative workshops and free additional education courses for children.

https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/russian-cultural-center-opens-in-armenian-res-1661299.html

Sports: Armenia manager announces squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers

Emil Lazarian
Panorama
Armenia –

The head coach of Armenia’s national football team, Oleksandr Petrakov, announced the Armenian squad for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers at a press conference on Friday, the Football Federation of Armenia said.

Armenia will face Turkey in its opening match of the Euro 2024 qualifiers at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan on March 25.

The following players have been called up to the national team:

Goalkeepers

Stanislav Buchnev – FC Pyunik
Arsen Beglaryan – FC Urartu
Arman Nersesyan – BKMA

Defenders

Varazdat Haroyan – FC Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus)
Andre Calisir – IF Brommapojkarna (Sweden)
Kamo Hovhannisyan – FC Astana (Kazakhstan)
Nair Tiknizyan – FC Lokomotiv (Russia)
Georgi Harutyunyan – FC Krasnodar-2 (Russia)
Taron Voskanyan – FC Alashkert
Zhirayr Margaryan – FC Urartu
Erik Piloyan – FC Urartu
Yerjanik Ghubasaryan – FC Noah

Midfielders

Eduard Spertsyan – FC Krasnodar (Russia)
Khoren Bayramyan – FC Rostov (Russia)
Lucas Zelarayan – FC Columbus Crew (USA)
Tigran Barseghyan – SK Slovan (Slovakia)
Edgar Babayan – Randers FC (Denmark)
Zhirayr Shaghoyan – CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria)
Vahan Bichakhchyan – Pogoń Szczecin (Poland)
David Davidyan – FC Pyunik
Ugochukwu Iwu – FC Urartu
Karen Muradyan – FC Ararat-Armenia
Artur Serobyan – FC Ararat-Armenia

Forwards

Norberto Briasco Balekian – Boca Juniors (Argentina)
Sargis Adamyan – FC Koln (Germany)
Grant-Leon Ranos – FC Bayern (Germany)

The Armenian national team will start the training camp on March 18.

Armenia emphasizes involvement of the Office of UNHCR Commissioner in ensuring the return of displaced Armenians of NK

Emil Lazarian

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 19:57,

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. On March 17, Kavita Belani, the newly-appointed Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Armenia, handed over the letter of accreditation to Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahe Gevorgyan, ARMENPRESS was informed

Vahe Gevorgyan congratulated Ms. Belani on her appointment and expressed confidence that cooperation with the Representation will be further strengthened under her leadership.

The interlocutors touched upon the recent developments in the region, as well as the priorities of the Republic of Armenia on the issues concerning refugees, internally displaced persons, migration, as well as other related issues.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia highlighted the involvement of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in ensuring the return of displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh in accordance with the November 9, 2020 Trilateral Statement.

The Prime Minister and the head of the IMF mission in Armenia discuss issues of the cooperation

Emil Lazarian

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 20:35,

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the head of the Armenian mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Iva Petrova and her delegation on March 17, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

Expressing satisfaction with the IMF-Armenia partnership, the Prime Minister attached importance to the IMF’s support for the Government’s reform agenda. Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that last year Armenia recorded high indicators of economic growth and state revenue growth. The Prime Minister of Armenia emphasized that the Government is determined to continue the reforms in various directions and emphasizes consistent work with international partner structures along the way.

The head of the IMF mission in Armenia thanked for the high assessment and noted that the IMF will continue to support the economic progress of our country and the reforms initiated by the Government. According to her, Armenia’s economic indicators are quite noteworthy, and the IMF is interested in the development of effective cooperation.

The interlocutors referred to the partnership agenda, discussed issues related to the IMF-Armenia joint action plan.

The Prime Minister presented the reforms and recorded results in the diversification of the economy, ensuring financial and economic stability, improving the investment environment, infrastructure development, legislative regulations, fight against corruption, tax sector, and other directions as well.

The sides exchanged ideas on current economic trends and expectations from 2023.

Deputy PM Khachatryan and IMF representatives discuss wide range of issues of mutual interest

Emil Lazarian

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 21:21,

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Khachatryan had a working meeting on March 17 with Iva Petrova, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission in Armenia, and IMF Resident Representative for Armenia Mehdi Raissii.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the office of Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan, at the beginning of the meeting, Deputy PM Khachatryan, welcoming the guests, highly appreciated the willingness of the IMF to constantly support the reform programs of the Armenian government.

Iva Petrova thanked for the reception and emphasized the high-level partnership relations with the Armenian government, expressing confidence that the effective cooperation will continue in the future.

The parties discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest, in particular, referred to topics related to the latest macroeconomic developments, capital expenditures and tax policy.

It is noted that at the end of the meeting, a number of agreements were reached to continue discussions of current programs in a working format in the near future.

Asbarez: ATP Visits Students at Armenian Academy at Blair High School

Emil Lazarian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Community, Latest, News, Top Stories

Armenian Academy at Blair High School students and faculty with Armenia Tree Project’s West Coast Community Outreach Manager Anahid Gharibian (center, standing)


The Armenia Tree Project’s West Coast Community Outreach Manager Anahid Gharibian visited the Armenian Academy at Blair High School in Pasadena, CA. As the guest speaker, Gharibian delivered a presentation to the Academy’s middle school students in the periodicals room of the school library on March 15.

Students learned about how and why ATP, a Boston-based organization, was created shortly after the Spitak earthquake in 1988. In the last 32 years, ATP has planted 7.5 million ornamental and fruit trees around Armenia. The first generation of trees provided food and income for several thousands of people in the newly independent Republic of Armenia, which was struggling with both political and environmental hardships.

ATP provides income routes for villagers in the North and the South of the country by creating greenhouses and homespun nurseries where the trees are planted and nurtured by villagers and then transplanted all over Armenia. The organization wholeheartedly appreciates its diasporan donors and Gharibian spent a great deal of time discussing the significance of that vital support. Each tree planted allows the donor to #GetRooted to their homeland.

During her discussion, Gharibian shared a slide show, as well as videos, presenting how the ATP functions in Armenia, and surprised the students with a video of the tree planting ceremony carried out by high school seniors in Armenia, in the absence of their American counterparts due to the pandemic. The ceremony was held to celebrate the first anniversary of the Armenian Academy at Blair High School.

Each year, graduating seniors at the Armenian Academy plant trees in various regions in Armenia. This year, a group of seniors and juniors will once again go to Armenia and, with the help of ATP, plant trees in Ashtarak. As a keepsake of their time in the homeland, they will receive certificates from ATP for their efforts at the “Last Bell” ceremony, which will be provided by the organization’s main office in Yerevan.

Gharibian shared activity booklets, titled “Building Bridges,” with the Academy’s students to further their education on ecology in Armenia. She also presented samples of t-shirts the students will be wearing when they have their turn in Armenia. In turn, the children presented Gharibian with bouquets of flowers and a thoughtfully written thank you card.

WHO: Armenia takes steps to improve its primary health-care system

Emil Lazarian
             
 

News release

 

Reading time: 2 min (431 words)

Armenia is moving forward with redesigning the model and structure of primary health care (PHC) in the country. A technical team from the WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care discussed the country’s PHC priorities with Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Health and the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) PHC Task Force during a recent visit to the country. The meeting also identified areas where WHO could provide technical assistance.

Currently Armenia is facing numerous challenges in health care, with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) accounting for an estimated 93% of all deaths in the country, which is higher than the global average of 71%. Governance, financing, workforce, model of care, quality of care and digital technologies are all areas of concern that need to be addressed in order to improve the health-care system. 

The country committed to the development of PHC reforms based on the European Programme of Work, 2020–2025, and the 2018 Astana Declaration on Primary Health Care, as well as the 2020 WHO and UNICEF Operational Framework for Primary Health Care. During a recent high-level meeting in Yerevan, the PHC Task Force discussed existing challenges and reaffirmed priorities.

During the visit the team contacted PHC workers in various PHC facilities and co-facilitated a roundtable discussion with key stakeholders, including representatives from the MoH, international partners and donors, and shared their observations from the mission. The team was impressed by the potential of the information system developed by Armenia’s national e-health operator, ArMed.

The team then met with the Minister of Health to reaffirm PHC priorities and agree on WHO-specified technical support, a visit to the WHO PHC Demonstration Platform in Kazakhstan, participation in the performance measurement and management programme, and a brief mission report to the MoH.

Overall, the mission identified areas for improvement in Armenia’s PHC system and outlined specific steps that the WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care can take to provide technical support and assistance in the priority areas listed below.

  1. Workforce: to ensure an adequate supply of health professionals, the Government of Armenia needs to revisit the supply of narrow specialists according to future needs, retrain some narrow specialists into family doctors, revise their scope of practice, redistribute them between hospital outpatient departments, and increase the supply of nurses.
  2. Model of care: revise family medicine and nursing training to strengthen focus on selected NCDs, implement revised clinical guidelines and protocols, ensure alignment between clinical pathways and guidelines, and identify and promote a network of champions of family medicine.

Implementing these reforms will help to ensure the long-term success of PHC in Armenia.

Armenian PM says no humanitarian disaster in Karabakh thanks to peacekeepers

Emil Lazarian
 TASS 
Russia –
It was also added that Russia had assumed the role of the guarantor of the security of the population and civil infrastructure of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020

YEREVAN, March 16. /TASS/. The humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh caused by Azerbaijan’s blocking of the Lachin corridor has not turned into a catastrophe thanks to Russian peacekeepers, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting on Thursday.

“I cannot but note the special role of Russian peacekeeping troops. Thanks to them, the humanitarian crisis that emerged after the illegal closure of the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh did not turn into a humanitarian disaster,” he said.

Pashinyan also added that Russia had assumed the role of the guarantor of the security of the population and civil infrastructure of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. “We hope that the Russian Federation will fulfill this function, but if our ally cannot fulfill this role for any objective reason, I think it should turn to the UN Security Council and warn the civilian population in Nagorno-Karabakh of the danger,” he added.

https://tass.com/world/1589463

Assembly Welcomes New York & Texas State Chairs

Emil Lazarian

Washington, D.C. – The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) welcomes two new state chairs, Mariam Aghayan representing New York, and Hamlet Sarokhanian representing Texas, to lead efforts for grassroots activism in their respective states.
Currently based in Albany, New York, Mariam is a Major Gifts Officer at Pomfret School, and holds degrees from The Fletcher School at Tufts University (M.A. in Law and Diplomacy) and Gettysburg College (B.A. in Political Science and Public Policy).
Originally from Yerevan, Armenia, Mariam’s background as a direct descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors has instilled in her a passion for human rights, and she remains dedicated to work that benefits the Armenian people. Mariam has implemented five international grants, including two Andrew W. Mellon grants in Morocco and Greece, one Project for Peace grant in Armenia, a State Department Diplomacy Lab grant in Hungary, and a Tisch International Fellow grant in Armenia.
Mariam has served as a volunteer to help with fundraising strategy at Pahapan NGO in Tavush, Armenia, the Artsakh Initiative at Columbia University’s Institute of Human Rights in New York City, and St. Peter Armenian Church in Watervliet, NY.
As a member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Armenian community, Hamlet is an active member of the St. Sarkis Armenian Orthodox Church of Carrollton, Texas, where he also regularly organizes events to raise awareness and provide education about the Armenian Genocide.
Hamlet has four decades of experience in the global Telecommunication industry, and currently leads an advanced 5G technology & product management initiative for AT&T. He holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Oklahoma State University, an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and an executive certificate in Business & Strategy Innovation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Hamlet’s volunteer work includes serving as Visiting Professor at the American University of Armenia, where he teaches an Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Incubation course to MBA students.
“As a resident of Texas, which is the second largest populous state in America with over 30 million people, it is my ambition to promote Armenian identity and values here by staying connected to influencers and opinion leaders to have Armenian interests above the line,” said Hamlet.
“We’re delighted to welcome both Mariam and Hamlet as our new Assembly State Chairs in New York and Texas,” said Assembly Director of Congressional Relations Mariam Khaloyan. “They are two very active individuals in their respective communities who understand the importance and influential impact of grassroots activism. The Assembly appreciates Mariam and Hamlet’s dedication to advocacy and promoting Armenian issues in the U.S. Congress.”


Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.


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