Author: Kanayan Tamar

GRAPE OUTPUT THIS YEAR EXPECTED TO BE 10-15% HIGHER FROM LAST YEAR

/ARKA/
SEPTEMBER 23, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, September 23. / ARKA /. Avag Harutyunyan, chairman of the
Union of Armenian Winemakers, said today the grape output this year
is expected to be 10-15% higher from last year.

According to the data of the ministry of agriculture, last year’s
grape output rose to 210,000 metric tons from 185,000 tons in 2009.

Avag Harutyunyan said winegrowers this year had two problems. One was
hails that damaged about 20% of the output and 5% losses were caused
by recent fungal diseases. ‘However, since we expect an overall 30-35%
growth, the net growth eventually will amount to 10-15%,” he said.

According to Harutyunyan, in 2011 winegrowers have managed to overcome
the consequences of the crisis in 2009 and 2010 and the demand for
grapes has increased significantly after brandy producers said they
would like to produce also wine. He said this is supposed to increase
competition and result in higher quality of final produces.

He said there is demand for Armenian wine abroad, however, local
wineries are still not able to secure large amounts and high quality
due to lack of quality grapes. According to him, virtually all wineries
have bought modern equipment and machinery, which will raise the
quality of products.

“The demand for wine increases, quality improves, and the grapes
will become more expensive, as the grape output grows more slowly
than the demand for wine. Besides, wine producers will now focus on
more expensive and high-quality varieties,” he said.

According to the National Statistical Service, in January-July this
year wine production increased by 17.8% to 3.37 million litters.

GEORGIAN AMBASSADOR INVITED TO ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY FOR GIVING EXPLANATIONS

arminfo
Friday, September 23, 18:59

Ambassador of Georgia to Armenia Tengiz Sharmanashvili has been
invited to Armenia’s Foreign Ministry for giving explanations
concerning Georgia’s official stance on its Foreign Ministry’s
diplomatic “demarche” – the statement on the local elections in the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

The statement said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
confirms its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders and does not
recognize the so-called local elections held in Nagorno-Karabakh Sept
18 2011. The Ministry also welcomed the world community’s efforts to
ensure the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and
expressed belief that there is no alternative to dialogue.

Meanwhile, the Central Electoral Commission of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic has summed up the results of the elections, which took
place in 209 out of 227 communities. 54,697 (58.66%) out of 93,243
registered voters took part in the voting. 7 international and 11
local observers monitored the elections.

UNION OF EMPLOYERS IN AGRARIAN SPHERE ESTABLISHED IN ARMENIA

/ARKA/
September 23, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, September 23. /ARKA/. Union of Employers in agrarian sphere
was established in Armenia, said the Chairman of Agrarian Union of
Armenia Hrach Berberyan.

“The Union gradually starts its activity which can promote the jobs
in agricultural sphere between the employers and working force”,
said Berberyan.

It is necessary to regulate legislation of these interrelations and
the first steps are undertaken already in this direction.

At the end of October a meeting will be organized where managing body
will be selected and the staff of the Union will be approved.

In 2010 Armenia registered unprecedented decline in agricultural
sphere of Armenia in the amount of 12.5%. In 2011, the Government
of Armenia announced the agrarian sector a priority sector in the
economy of the country.

According to the data of Armenian National Statistic Service, volume
of production in agriculture in August increased by 21.3% compared
to the same period of 2010 making over 130.6 billion drams (growth
by 61.9% in August compared to July). ($1 – 373.94 drams).

SARKOZY OFFERS NEW PLAN FOR KARABAKH SETTLEMENT?

Tert.am
23.09.11

In his UN speech on September 21, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
proposed a conflict resolution ‘method’ that he could be used for
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Huliq.com reported.

Sarkozy particularly proposed admitting Palestine to the UN as a
non-member state with observer status. He said decades of negotiations
had yielded no results and was time to “change the method” to
achieve better results. According to Huliq, the French leader may
offer a similar proposal to the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
as a method for resolving the Karabakh conflict Welcoming Sarkozy’s
proposal, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said was not a
surprise to his country.

“The speech of President Sarkozy had some aspects which are discussed
in the international community, so it was not a surprise for us,”
he was quoted as saying.

“Now the question is, since Nicolas Sarkozy is heading to South
Caucasus and is meeting with the Armenian president on Sept. 27, could
this or a similar package be offered as a solution to the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, the people of which struggle for independence
and freedom? From the words of the German Foreign Minister it can be
concluded that there is an internationally discussed “package” that may
be applied to inter-ethnic conflict resolution. Sarkozy’s points about
two sides not trusting each other, the need for changing the method
and giving the people hope with mutual recognition holds true for
the case of Nagorno Karabakh as well,” says the author of the article.

CANADA’S MONCTON TO HOST FOURTH ARMENIAN FESTIVAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 23, 2011 – 15:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian culture will once again be celebrated in
Metro Moncton, Canada.

Times&Transcript reported that events for the fourth Moncton Armenian
Festival were unveiled at Moncton City Hall, including an array of
music, film, art exhibitions and other events running from October
27 to November 6.

Although she says Moncton’s Armenian community is limited to a handful
of established families, organizer Sylvia Kasparian says the wider
Metro population has become increasingly a part of the festival.

“Every year more people are attending and now they know it’s a very
high level,” she says. “Multicultural festivals are growing, because
I think people like that, they want something different, but they
never have been exposed to this.”

The festival is held every two years, with the inaugural edition coming
in 2005 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

This year’s event begins with a keynote concert from Armenian pianist
Tigran Hamasyan, whose music is based on Armenian traditions and
folklore, but with modern influences like rock, jazz and even heavy
metal.

Hamasyan will play at Dieppe’s Arts and Culture Centre the evening of
Oct. 27, after hosting a free discussion of his work, technique and
personal journey at the Faculty of Arts at l’Universite de Moncton
that morning.

The festival will also include an exhibition by visual artist and
filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, as well as medieval and sacred music from
the Oshakan Vocal Quartet and other musicians.

DEFENSE MINISTER RECEIVED THE NEWLY APPOINTED GERMAN MILITARY ATTACHE TO ARMENIA

2011-09-23

On September 22, ARM Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan received
ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia Hans-Jochen
Schmidt due to the ending of the mission of the German military
attache to Armenia Colonel Bruno Paulus and appointment of his
successor Joseph Joachim Wilhelm Bruno.

The minister thanked Bruno Paulus for his personal contribution in
the relations between Armenia and Germany throughout his term and
awarded him with the departmental medal ‘For Military Cooperation’.

Congratulating Colonel Joseph Joachim Wilhelm Bruno on his new job,
the minister expressed hope that during his tenure Armenian-German
military cooperation will broaden and strengthen even more.

The parties noted with satisfaction that Armenian-German cooperation
develops continuously embracing new spheres.

GERMAN AMBASSADOR: ARMENIA WILL GIVE ADEQUATE RESPONSE

Aysor.am
Friday,September 23

German Ambassador to Armenia Hans-Jochen Schmidt noted that he is
impressed by the military parade dedicated to the 20th anniversary
of Armenia’s independence.

“I liked the fact that the parade showed that Armenians have certain
technologies, and if others are interested in making war, the Armenian
state will give an adequate response,” the Ambassador said.

In his words, this is a stabilizing factor for the region and the
technologies demonstrated at the parade – “SKAT,” “Tochka-1” – testify
that Armenians are able to develop the existing technologies and to
stabilize the situation.

ARMENIA TO PARTICIPATE IN ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION “OUR HOME 2011” IN BATUMI

/ARKA/
September 22, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, September 22. /ARKA/. Armenia will participate in the tenth
anniversary international exhibition “Out home 2011” which will
take place from October 21-23 in Batumi in the frames of the event
“Building & Design International Fair”, press-service of the Armenian
exhibition company Expo Media informs.

The organizer of the event is the Department of Tourism and Healthcare
of Ajaria and the partner in Armenia is the company Expo Media.

Georgia, Turkey and Iran will also participate in this event.

“The goal of the Armenian organizers is to show that Armenian
product is competitive and corresponds to international standards,
as well as obtain new partners and create new mutually beneficial
business contacts between manufacturers and consumers”, states the
press-release. The event will also promote the expansion of the market
and introduction of new technologies, solutions and offers.

EXPERTS WARN INTERNET MAY AFFECT POLITICS IN TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 23, 2011 – 14:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Messages shared by Turkey’s young and dynamic
population on the world’s most popular social networking platforms
might lead to political results similar to those seen during the
ongoing Arab Spring, a top Turkish marketing professional said.

“Spring for some, and winter for some others: The Arab Spring started
on Twitter and Facebook,” Gunseli Ozen Ocakoglu, editor-in-chief of
Marketing Turkey and head of the Marketing and Management Institute,
said on the sidelines of the Interactive Marketing Summit held in
Istanbul, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“Unfortunately, Turkish political leaders often underestimate the power
of youth living in Turkey as they are all united in online platforms
and are ready to unite and protest for anything,” said Ocaklıoglu.

According to her, Turkish youth experienced their “first victory”
against a new web filtering plan that the Information and Communication
Technologies Authority, or BTK, planned to implement in August.

“Some started the protests first on Facebook and Twitter; later, many
joined the protest against the BTK’s decision,” she said, adding that
the BTK had postponed the filter’s implementation until November so
that improvements could be made.

“They eventually got the message,” she said.

“Turkey’s politicians should understand that youngsters are [aware]
and that they will continue to become involved in serious issues,”
said Ocakoglu, adding that the real talent was to “read the messages
carefully.”

In Turkey, there are 34 million Internet users and 30 million Facebook
users – nearly 14 million of whom are between the ages of 15 and 24.

Some 16 million people are between 15 and 25, while nine out of every
10 youth use social networking platforms, according to recent research
from the Turkish Statistical Institute, or TurkStat.

RUSSIAN KRASNODAR REGION TO PRODUCE CHIPS WITH ARMENIAN POTATOES

Tert.am
23.09.11

The Armenian Agrarian Peasants Union (AAPU) is going to implement a
large-scale project for a US company, by launching a chips production
business in the Russian region of Krasnodar.

Introducing the initiative on Friday, the head of the union, Hrach
Berberyan told reporters that a document on the business project will
be signed in the coming 10 days.

He said the US company has acquired 40,000 hectares of land in
Krasnodar region to plant potato seedlings exported from Armenia
(with a total cost of ~@30 million).

The potato harvest (expected to be about 300,000 tons) will be used
for the production of chips.

The US company is also engaged in juice manufacturing.