Author: Emma Jilavian

Ashot Ghoulyan: The formation of the Canada-Artsakh friendship group in the Canadian parliament …

Emma Jilavian
Arminfo, Armenia
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.President of the National Assembly of Artsakh, Ashot Ghoulyan, welcomed the creation of the “Parliamentary group of friends of people of Artsakh” in  Canada.

As the press service of the Artsakh NA told ArmInfo, on March 22 in  connection with the creation of a parliamentary friendship group with  Canada-Artsakh in Ottawa, Ghoulyan sent a letter of thanks to  Canadian House of Commons member Rachel Harder, who formed the group  on March 19.

The letter, in particular, says “Dear Ms. Harder, on behalf of the  National Assembly of the Artsakh Republic and on my own behalf, I  express my gratitude to you and the members of the group for their  willingness and determination to develop friendly relations with the  Artsakh people. This initiative is a new institutional level of our  cooperation, which  began two years ago with your visit to  Stepanakert and acquaintance with our country. I am convinced that  these groups will become an effective platform for expanding mutually  beneficial ties between Artsakh and Canada, especially in the field  of humanitarian cooperation, “the letter of thanks noted.

The President of the National Assembly also sent a letter of thanks  to the executive director of the Canadian office of Hay Dat Sevak  Belyan for his great contribution to the formation of the friendship  group.

27th group of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers arrives in Armenia

Emma Jilavian
Panorama, Armenia

A group of 37 U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in Armenia last night. The volunteers are all U.S. citizens, who have made a decision to spend two years of theirs lives serving the Armenian people. They will live in towns and villages across Armenia, will co-teach English with local school teachers and work in NGOs, the Peace Corps reported.

Before coming to Armenia, the volunteers participated in a virtual online course with Armenian language teachers.  This course provided them a basic, rudimentary understanding of the Armenian alphabet and conversational Armenian.  They are now prepared for more intensive Armenian language training in the next few months.

During the first three months in Armenia, the volunteers will receive technical training and will continue to learn the Armenian language and culture.  After successful completion of a rigorous training course, they will officially be sworn-in and start their service in Armenia on May 31st.

The volunteers will spend a minimum of six months living with Armenian host families where they will learn first-hand about Armenian culture and values.  Some volunteers will spend their entire service living with a host family.

With the addition of this new group, there are 108 Peace Corps volunteers serving in rural villages and towns throughout all of the regions of Armenia.

The United States Peace Corps was founded in 1961 by John F. Kennedy to promote world peace and friendship. The Peace Corps started its activities in Armenia in 1992 at the invitation of the Government of Armenia. Over the past 27 years more than 1,100 volunteers have served in Armenia.

Expert: Tbilisi must honestly understand that Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Georgia

Emma Jilavian
Arminfo, Armenia
Ani Mshetsyan

ArmInfo. Tbilisi must clearly  understand that Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of  Georgia. On March 15, an expert on Georgia’s issues, Johnny Melikyan,  said during a Yerevan-Tbilisi TV bridge .

I want to remind you that in the 90s there was an agreement between  Armenia and Georgia not to vote against each other at various  international venues. Unfortunately, today it does not work>,  Melikyan stressed.In turn, the ex-governor of Samtskhe-Javakheti, the  ex-ambassador of Georgia in Armenia Gigla Baramidze noted that  Armenia and Georgia have always cooperated in various fields, and  now, this practice should be continued.

 “We very much hope that the visit of Zurabishvili to Armenia will  give a new impetus to the Armenian- Georgian relations,” he said,  adding that besides the “toasts”, efforts should be made to develop  relations.  He stressed that regardless of the internal political  situation in the countries, bilateral relations should be actively  developed.In turn, the chairman of the international center for human  development Tevan Poghosyan expressed the hope that after the  internal political events that occurred in Armenia in the spring of  2018, Armenian-Georgian relations will begin to actively develop in  all spheres.Poghosyan reminded that in the near future mutual visits  of Ararat Mirzoyan and Irakliy Kobakhidze, the heads of parliaments  of Armenia and Georgia, are expected. In his words, the  implementation of the Agreement on Armenia’s deep and comprehensive  partnership with the EU will also enhance the relations. 

He noted that Armenia and Georgia can cooperate not only on the  political and economic plane, but also in the framework of joint  regional projects.It should be noted that from March 13 to 14, a  delegation led by President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili visited  Armenia on an official visit.Zurabishvili met with Armenian President  Armen Sargsyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, National Assembly  Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan, as well as Catholicos of All Armenians  Garegin II. 

Swallows and Armenians: Arthur Ransome’s forgotten inspirations revealed

Emma Jilavian
The Guardian, UK
March 9 2019
Swallows and Armenians: Arthur Ransome’s forgotten inspirations revealed

A new art project is exploring how the characters in the English children’s classic were modelled on a family from Aleppo

Alison Flood

Sat 9 Mar 2019 06.00 GMT

Mavis, Taqui and Susie Altounyan, three of the five children who inspired Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons, boating with a nanny in the early 1920s. Photograph: Guzelian

Arthur Ransome’s fictional Walker children – John, Susan, Titty and Roger – are quintessentially English, enjoying summers sailing in the Lake District with bread and marmalade for tea, and peppering their talk with regular “jolly good”s. But the Anglo-Armenian family who inspired the Walkers deserves to be more widely acknowledged, says artist Karen Babayan, who hopes to re-establish the connection through an Arts Council England-funded project spanning stories, dance, theatre and art.

The Altounyan children – Taqui, Susan, Mavis (known to her family as Titty), Roger and Brigit – lived in Aleppo, Syria. Their father, the half-Armenian, half-Irish Ernest Altounyan, had known Ransome since their school days at Rugby, and Ransome had unsuccessfully proposed to their mother, Dora Collingwood. Altounyan married Collingwood in 1915, and their friendship with Ransome was renewed when the Altounyan family took a summer trip to the Lake District in 1928. Ernest and Ransome bought two boats, named Swallow and Mavis, for the children and the group spent months sailing, fishing and walking together.

Ransome published Swallows and Amazons two years later, initially including a dedication in the novel, “To the six for whom it was written in exchange for a pair of slippers”, which referred to the Turkish slippers the Altounyans gave him when they left. Ernest wrote to him: “I especially marvel at your extraordinary accurate characterisation of the kids.”

But Ransome removed the dedication from later editions. The Independent’s obituary of the youngest Altounyan, Brigit, who was president of the Arthur Ransome Society for years and died at 73 in 1999, speculated that “as the Swallows and Amazons stories became increasingly famous, Ransome, incited perhaps by [his wife] Evgenia, became over-protective about the originality of his characters”.

Ransome’s autobiography described Ernest as merely “Robin Collingwood’s Rugby friend” whose “children had identified themselves (regardless of sex) with my characters”.

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Ransome with four of the five Altounyan children and their mother, Dora. Photograph: Arthur Ransome Literary Estate

Now Babayan, an Anglo-Armenian author and artist based in Cumbria, said she wanted “the contribution of the Altounyan family to be more widely acknowledged and celebrated, bringing positive awareness of different cultures in the Lake District”.

“In knowing the identity and ethnicity of the children, I believe young British readers of all cultural backgrounds would feel more connected to and excited by the works of Arthur Ransome,” she said.

Babayan’s book of short stories, Swallows and Armenians, is published on Friday. It draws from correspondence and diaries held in Leeds University library’s special collections to explore the Altounyans’ lives in Coniston and Aleppo. “In a curious way I’m echoing what Arthur Ransome did, but hopefully with an understanding of how displacement and being of a mixed cultural background may affect one’s sense of self, experience and reality,” she writes in an introduction to the book, which is published by Wild Pansy Press. “Art should reflect the concerns of its day and one of the main concerns of our world is the migrant crisis: this is what I am addressing through the perspective of an extraordinary family of artists, writers, poets and doctors, revealing a new seam in the already rich cultural geology of the Lake District.”

           

Her project also includes an exhibition at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick until 10 April, an Armenian circle dance on the shores of Derwentwater in honour of Ernest, and a showing of family portraits by Dora Altounyan, including one of Titty as a child that Ransome owned for years.

It remains unclear why Ernest and Ransome’s relationship cooled. But digging through the archives at Leeds University library, Babayan came across a letter from Ernest to Ransome, sent after the Ransomes had returned to the UK after a three-month visit to the family in Aleppo in 1932. In his autobiography, Ransome attributes his family’s departure to health problems. But Ernest’s letter reads: “I would only ask you to believe that Dora and I are acting in agreement and that I am not managing her in the least. I notice you also consider that I have been inconsiderate enough to keep her out in the East too long! The truth is that it will take a good deal to persuade her that either we and our children are so out of it as to feel like savages when we land in England … I cannot help thinking … however that the way you refer to their upbringing is that they have been under my influence too long. Why after years of apparent friendship you should suddenly decide that I am such a pernicious and underhand person I can’t think.”

Babayan commented: “Whether it was this disagreement in Aleppo or Ransome’s irritation with Ernest – who enjoyed and boasted of their family’s link to the books – which prompted the author to deny the children’s role in the inspiration for Swallows and Amazons in his autobiography, we will never know.”

Geraint Lewis from the Arthur Ransome Trust said Swallows and Amazons was “surely born in Ransome’s own formative love for Coniston”, but “the Altounyan children played a vital role by being the right inspirational ‘trigger’, in the right place, at the right time”.

“He certainly acknowledged the Altounyans’ importance at the time,” said Lewis, speculating that deterioration between Ransome and Ernest could reflect an element of romantic regret on Ransome’s part about Ernest’s wife Dora.

“Perhaps it would only be natural to look at the children and wonder what might have happened, had she not turned him down?” said Lewis. “Ransome also seems to have become increasingly protective of his fictional characters over time. I suspect this is quite natural for any novelist. While the Altounyans clearly provided significant inspiration for his fictional Swallows, the latter were surely only ever the real children in the first moments of creation.”

168: “We no longer have separate agendas for Armenia and the Diaspora: we have a national agenda aimed at achieving national goals” – Nikol Pashinyan meets with Armenian community representatives in Iran (video)(photos)

Emma Jilavian
| 10:57 | February 28 2019
Category
Politics

At the end of the first day of his official visit to Iran, accompanied by Mrs. Anna Hakobyan and the members of his delegation, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with the local Armenian community representatives. The meeting took place at Tehran’s Ararat Sports and Cultural Association. Thousands of Iranian-Armenians attended the meeting. They welcomed the Prime Minister with enthusiasm, warmth and applause.

Prior to addressing the audience, Nikol Pashinyan signed the Book of Honorary Guests at Ararat Sport-Cultural Union. Welcoming the representatives of the Iranian-Armenian community, Nikol Pashinyan stated, in part: “Proud citizens of proud Armenians in Iran, I welcome all of you. It is a great honor for me to be here and enjoy a purely Armenian and homely atmosphere. I want to say that I love all of you, I am proud of you all, I am proud of your spirit, I bow to all of you living far from your homeland in the friendly and brotherly Iran; it is very important that you can provide such an atmosphere. This proves that being a citizen of Iran is not at odds with one’s being Armenian, being from Armenia and focused on Armenia.

Of course, during the revolutionary days of April-May, I had no chance to follow what was happening in our communities, in particular in the Iranian-Armenian community, but I also know that the whole community was closely following the development in the Homeland.

Dear compatriots, I will not hesitate to say that you were full participants of the popular revolution that took place in the Republic of Armenia. No matter who was physically present in Armenia: the changes would not have happened without your support.

Yes, each one of you participated in the non-violent, velvet popular revolution in Armenia with your love and attention, and the triumph of our popular revolution was the personal victory of each of you because it brought unity to the Armenian people; unity that will never be impaired in any way.

I want to make a clear record. Yes, there may be discussions, debates, different approaches and views on issues related to the Diaspora in Armenia, but I want to set a task before us, first and foremost before me and our government: we must rule out any such action as may cast doubt on the unprecedented national unity that the Armenian people enjoy today in Armenia, in Iran and in the Diaspora. That unity is out of any political and party interests, our national unity is exalted above all, and we all serve that national unity.

I cannot help addressing words of respect and appreciation to Ararat Club, which has been able to create such an exclusive Armenian hearth through individual efforts, the efforts of individual groups and the efforts of individual parties. This is truly our common pride: thanks to the beloved participants and organizers of Ararat Club. I would like to emphasize that this service is unique not only for the Armenian community of Iran, but also for Armenians and the Republic of Armenia.

I also want to emphasize the exceptional service provided by the Iranian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, and the Armenian Evangelical Church in the Iranian-Armenian community here.

The fact that all of us are here under the same roof, emphasizes that a truly new chapter has been opened in the history of our people, and each of us has a share to take by writing and creating that part of our history.
The greatest mission of our revolution and the government is that each of us, each one of you, as a whole, not only believes in the future of our homeland, our nation, but also is confident that we will be victorious in the 21st century. This is a new nationwide march with which we should open a new page in our nation’s history. We can record your loyalty to the values that led to the non-violent, velvet popular revolution.

We no longer have separate agendas for Armenia and the Diaspora: we have a national agenda aimed at achieving national goals. I have repeatedly stated that while suffering, our people have always dreamed, we have dreamed of new victories, new happiness and new unity.

I want to say that the time has come to materialize our long-cherished dreams, and your presence here testifies to the fact that we are united on the way to implementing our aspirations, whether it be Armenia’s economic empowerment, the enforcement of Artsakh people’s legitimate demand, or the realization of our dreams. We must build our future with our own hands.

Our destiny is no longer in the East, in the North and in the South, but in our hands, and as dignified citizens, we must grasp the fate of our destiny, and as a state, we must head for ever new victories. But I also want to emphasize that the realization of these dreams depends on each one, especially on me and my government.

You have fulfilled your duty today because I got so much energy from the meeting that once back to Armenia, I will endeavor with doubled, tripled, fourfold energy. I would like to thank you for such a meeting and atmosphere.

Long live freedom! Long live the Republic of Armenia! Long live the Armenian-Iranian friendship! Long live our children and we as we are living and will live as dignified and victorious sons of a free, proud and dignified people. Thank you.”

In conclusion, Prime Minister Pashinyan answered a number of questions concerning the strengthening of Armenia-Diaspora relations, the results of today’s talks, his government’s priorities, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, the Armenian-Turkish relations and other topics.

Mohammed bin Rashid receives Oman, Armenia defence ministers

Emma Jilavian
Emirates News Agency (WAM), UAE
Sunday
Mohammed bin Rashid receives Oman, Armenia defence ministers
 
 
ABU DHABI, 17th February, 2019 (WAM) — His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has received during IDEX 2019 proceedings, Bader bin Saood Al Busaidi, Minister of Defence of the Sultanate of Oman, and his accompanying delegation. H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, was also present during the meeting.
 
Al Busaidi relayed the greetings of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman to His Highness, wishing the UAE leadership and its people continued development and progress.
 
The two sides exchanged talks on IDEX and NAVDEX 2019 proceedings, where the Oman Minister praised the exhibition and its organisers for hosting an event of regional and international importance.
 
In another meeting, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid received Davit Tonoyan, Defence Minister of Armenia, who led a large delegation at the opening ceremony of IDEX 2019. His Highness welcomed the minister, who conveyed the greetings of the Armenian President, expressing his hopes to further strengthen ties between the two countries across multiple sectors. Tonoyan also expressed his thanks and appreciation for the warm and hospitable welcome enjoyed by the Armenian delegation on their visit to the UAE.
 
H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, H.H. Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, Lt. General Mohammed Abdulrahim Al Ali, Assistant Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, and Khalifa Saeed Suleiman, Director General of Dubai Protocol and Hospitality Department, along with a number of senior officers from the Ministry of Defence, were also present during the meetings.

Rinkevics voices support to reform process in Armenia

Emma Jilavian
Baltic News Service / – BNS
Friday 4:49 PM EET
Rinkevics voices support to reform process in Armenia
 
 
RIGA, Feb 15, BNS – On February 15, during the Munich Security Conference, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, BNS learned from the Latvian Foreign Ministry.
 
The Latvian Foreign Minister expressed satisfaction with the meeting between the Presidents of Latvia and Armenia at the Munich Conference. “The meeting of the Presidents is a strong impulse towards intensifying the political dialogue between our two countries. We would like to develop cooperation between line ministries and increase inter-parliamentary contacts. Effort should be made to promote economic contacts, as the potential for cooperation is under-utilised,” said Rinkevics.
 
During the conversation the Minister pointed out that Latvia appreciated the way the Armenian parliamentary elections were conducted, as well as supporting the reform process in Armenia. “We call on Armenia to work on the implementation of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced partnership Agreement, as well as reinforcing the reform process, notably in the areas of justice, good governance, economy, and regional development,” Rinkevics underlined.

Issy-les-Moulineaux, village arménien depuis 1920

Emma Jilavian
Le Parisien-France
6 févr. 2019
Issy-les-Moulineaux, village arménien depuis 1920
Hauts-de-Seine
Marjorie Lenhardt –                06 février 2019

Dressée discrètement sur les hauteurs d’Issy-les-Moulineaux, l’école primaire arménienne Hamaskaïne-Tarkmantchatz accueille aujourd’hui 105 élèves. Ce sont pour la plupart les arrières arrières petits enfants d’Arméniens venus se réfugier en France après le génocide perpétré à partir d’avril 1915.

Ici, la communauté est présente depuis cinq générations, et compte entre 6 000 et 6 500 personnes. Ce qui en fait l’une des communautés arméniennes les plus importantes d’Ile-de-France, avec Alfortville (Val-de-Marne). Alors l’annonce, mardi soir par Emmanuel Macron, de la création d’une journée nationale de commémoration du génocide arménien, le 24 avril, réjouit ce véritable village dans la ville.

« Ici la communauté Arménienne est très active et soudée, commente le père Avedis Balekiann, à la tête de l’Eglise apostolique depuis dix ans. Elle salue la décision d’Emmanuel Macron qui a touché le cœur de tous les compatriotes ».

Issy-les-Moulineaux, mercredi 6 février 2019. Le père Avedis Balekian est l’archiprêtre de l’église apostolique arménienne qui compte pas moins de 25 000 fidèles. LP/Marjorie Lenhardt

Pour le président de l’école bilingue des Hauts d’Issy, c’est aussi une décision très positive : « Cela nous valorise en tant que Français, et c’est un message fort aux négationnistes de tous bords », réagit Stéphane Aslanian, 56 ans. Son grand-père est arrivé à Issy-les-Moulineaux en 1923, avec un groupe de 10 000 Arméniens dirigés directement par les autorités françaises. A cette époque là, il n’était pas question de devoir de mémoire, mais d’intégration avant tout.

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D’après la sociologue isséenne Martine Hovanessian, « c’est entre 1920 et 1936 que les besoins en main-d’œuvre des industries lourdes ont canalisé l’afflux des réfugiés arméniens vers Issy-les-Moulineaux »*. Ils travaillaient à la cartoucherie Gévelot, chez Renault, Citroën, aux peintures Lefranc et dans la société Chausson.

Comme de nombreux Arméniens arrivés dans ces années-là, le grand-père de Stéphane s’est installé rue de la Défense, à deux rues de l’école. Mais la plupart vivaient d’abord sur l’île Saint-Germain dans des maisons souvent insalubres.

Dans les années 1930, avec la crise, ces ouvriers se sont pour beaucoup reconvertis dans le commerce de textile et de cordonnerie, ce qui a contribué à leur enrichissement.

A partir de là, ils ont commencé à construire de petits pavillons sur les hauteurs de la ville et près de la gare de Clamart. En 1973, ils font construire une Eglise apostolique qui compte aujourd’hui 25 000 fidèles, puis une Eglise évangélique en 1978, dans la même rue.

« C’est un véritable quartier arménien qui s’est formé et qui reconstitue un village avec son église, son école et des associations, souligne André Santini, maire (UDI), particulièrement fier de la bonne intégration de cette communauté dans la ville.

Aujourd’hui, il existe 12 structures, dont la maison de la culture arménienne et l’association de la Croix Bleue de France. Des points d’animation qui draînent « pas moins de 30 000 Altoséquanais d’origine arménienne », estime l’adjoint en charge de la communauté arménienne, Arthur Khandjian. « Pour moi, c’est même la communauté la plus importante de France pour son activisme, ses instances religieuses et son école », insiste-t-il.

L’école et l’Eglise constituent en effet les deux piliers de la communauté, autour desquelles gravitent les associations et les habitants. Lorsque l’école a été fondée en 1996, notamment par le père de l’actuel président, elle répondait au besoin d’une communauté grandissante avec les nouvelles vagues d’immigrations dans les années 1980. « Moi je suis arrivé en 1982 de Turquie, et mes trois enfants ont été scolarisés dans cette école », raconte Yervant, 55 ans, de la petite épicerie arménienne située à Clamart, tout près de l’école.

Clamart, mercredi 6 février. L’épicerie arménienne de Yervant Sabundjian est implantée depuis 1986 et propose de nombreux produits traditionnels. LP/Marjorie Lenhardt

« Il y avait un réflexe communautaire au départ. Mais aujourd’hui, on a une nouvelle génération de jeunes parents qui font le choix de se rapprocher d’Issy pour inscrire exprès leurs enfants à l’école dans un souci d’excellence car les classes sont petites et il y a très peu d’absentéisme de professeurs. Mais aussi pour le lien avec la langue », expose Stéphane Aslanian.

A la rentrée dernière, les inscriptions ont bondi de 30 % par rapport à la précédente.

*« Soixante ans de présence arménienne en région parisienne, le cas d’Issy-les-Moulineaux ». Article paru en 1988 dans la Revue européenne des migrations internationales.

MoMA Presents Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi’s Angela’s Diaries

Emma Jilavian
Through February 13The Museum of Modern Art
  • Film series

Yervant Gianikianand Angela Ricci Lucchireturn to MoMA, nearly a decade after their 2009 retrospective, with this poignant portrait completed by Gianikian following the death of Ricci Lucchi, his lifelong partner and collaborator, earlier this year. The intricate, affective montage, structured around readings of Ricci Lucchi’s illustrated diaries, embodies the tenets of the pair’s political cinema. Since the 1970s, Gianikian and Ricci Lucchi’s vivid manipulation of archival images of war and repression in the 20th century ran parallel with an urgency to infuse bygone images with immediacy—to treat them as “object[s] of the present.” A sustained meditation on memory and the passage of time, the film opens up a life in images—travelogues in Turkey, Armenia, and Russia; quietly touching domestic moments; and footage of the pair surrounded by their work in recent exhibitions—to new meanings. Simultaneously a private gesture, a living catalog, and a grand filmic document, Angela’s Diariesevokes Gianikian and Ricci Lucchi through both their radical artistic vision and a shared love of life.

Organized by Sophie Cavoulacos, Assistant Curator, Department of Film

Support for the exhibition is provided by the Annual Film Fund. Leadership support for the Annual Film Fund is provided by the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation and Steven Tisch, with major contributions from Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), Yuval Brisker Charitable Foundation, The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston, Marlene Hess and James D. Zirin, Karen and Gary Winnick, and The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art.

Monday, February 11, 4:00 p.m.

Tuesday, February 12, 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, February 13, 7:00 p.m.

Names of the merged Armenian ministries announced

Emma Jilavian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 8 2019

The Armenian government will have 12 ministries following the decision to merge three ministries to other government agencies. As Armenpress news agency reports, the names of the 12 ministries are as follows: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Ministry of Nature Protection, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Ministry of High Technology Industry.

To note, according to this structure, the Ministry of Culture is merged to the Ministry of Education and Sciences as a department, while the functions of the Diaspora Ministry will be passed on an Ambassador-at-large for relations with Diaspora.

The new government structure is set to be submitted to parliament for ratification.