Author: Kanayan Tamar

Interfax, Russia
Oct 12 2012

Russia and Armenia’s trade to top $1 bln this year – head of
intergovernmental committee

Yerevan

Trade between Russia and Armenia will exceed $1 billion this year, the
co-chair of the Armenian-Russian Intergovernmental Committee for
Economic Partnership, Maxim Sokolov, said at a briefing in Yerevan on
Friday.

Sokolov said that this figure reached over $800 million in January-August 2012.

According to the Armenian National Statistics Service, total trade
between the two countries came to $1.114 billion in 2011, up 11.9% in
2010. Exports totaled $222.7 million (up 38.8%) while imports came to
$891.7 million (up 6.8%).

Sokolov also said that total Russian investment in the Armenian
economy has reached around $3 billion in the last 20 years, including
direct investment, which has come to $2.5 billion.

“It makes us happy that Russian investment isn’t portfolio-based but
largely direct investment. This means that funds are going to
enterprises, the development of the material and technical base, and
business development,” he said.

Ih

Xinhua General News Service, China
October 12, 2012 Friday 10:40 AM EST

Armenia’s fourth international exhibition opens

YEREVAN Oct. 12

The fourth edition of Armenia’s international exhibition of
Panarmenian Expo opened here on Friday, with the pariticipation of
dozens of domestic and foreign companies.

The three-day expo was organized by the Prom Expo company, and was
co-sponsored by the ministries of economy and diaspora, as well as the
country’s chamber of commerce and industry.

Anahit Asatryan, manager of the expo’s organizer, said some 65
companies, some of which are from Turkey, George and Syria, have
registered to attend the exhibition, which is organized every three
years.

Prom Expo company director Arman Zakaryan said this year’s exhibition
will focus on health, insurance, industry, agriculture and
construction.

The exhibition, since its first one in 2003, is aimed at forging the
links between Armenia and the rest of the world in such sectors as
economy, culture, and science and technology, promoting business and
investment, and showing to the world the country’s economic potential.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
October 12, 2012 Friday 07:47 AM GMT+4

Russian-Armenian commission to discuss economic cooperation

YEREVAN October 12

The Russian-Armenian inter-governmental commission on economic
cooperation will convene for its 14th meeting in Yeveran on Thursday,
October 12, to discuss the state of and prospects for relations
between the two countries.

The commission, co-chaired by Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
and Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, will review the
implementation of the decisions adopted at the previous meeting, as
well as the state of and development of the legal framework for
bilateral trade and economic relations.

The agenda will also include cooperation in such fields as fuel and
energy, transport, communications and information technologies,
humanitarian projects and agriculture, healthcare, regional
cooperation, the Russian delegation said.

“Our countries cooperate most actively in all areas of interstate
relations without exception. Over the past years, Russian-Armenian
cooperation has developed into a rather complex and multifaceted
structure, and the inter-governmental commission is called upon to
service this structure,” Sargsyan said.

In his opinion, the inter-governmental commission “is an effective
tool for taking inventory of cooperation and serves as a unique
platform for discussing promising areas of joint work”.

The commission also “helps to adopt recommendations for the
implementation of joint programmes and projects and to control their
progress”, the prime minister said.

He stressed that “the questions of science, education and culture are
also in the centre of the commission’s attention”.

Russia plays a key role in ensuring Armenia’s security and has a
leading position in its economy, Sargsyan said earlier.

“Today Russia plays a key role in Armenia’s security system and it
occupies a leading position in our economy,” he said. “Russia is the
main investor in the Armenian economy, one of its main creditors and
one of the major foreign trade partners.”

“We are interested to improve these relations further, which is fully
consistent with our national interests,” the prime minister said.

“Over the past 20-odd years we have not only preserved the
centuries-old friendship between our peoples but we have also enriched
it with new content and raised it to a qualitatively new level,”
Sargsyan said, adding, “Strategic partnership between Armenia and
Russia has crowned this friendship”.

“We give priority among others to diversification of economic
cooperation between our countries. We are convinced that intensive
interaction in sectors that build up innovation potential will give a
boost to our economic cooperation. This will also allow us to fill our
strategic partnership and allied relations between Russia and Armenia
with new substance,” he said.

Trade turnover between Russia and Armenia in 2011 had reached one
billion U.S. dollars.

The two countries have good prospects in many sectors of the economy,
primarily in the energy sector, the power industry, atomic energy, and
many other serious projects.

There is also a big potential in joint development of the
agro-industrial sector in Armenia.

Paper: Khachatur Sukiasyan to run for president?

October 13, 2012 – 17:26 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – According to 168 Zham daily, businessman Khachatur
Sukiasyan is likely to run for president. Perhaps he has been inspired
by the recent parliamentary elections in Tbilisi, with Georgian
Dream’s party headed by a billionaire entrepreneur having won the
ruling party.

Khachatur Sukiasyan’s nomination will convey new interest to the race,
given his potential to unite a large number of political forces and
individuals. Sukiasyan maintains friendly relations with both the
opposition and the authority circles, the paper says.

Situation in Armenian regions of Syria is relatively peaceful

17:48, 13 October, 2012

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Clashes in different districts of
Aleppo continue, but in Armenian districts the situation is relatively
peaceful. As Press Secretary of Armenian National Primacy of Aleppo
Jirayr Reisyan informed “Armenpress”, 25 years old young man Hovik
Tampalyan and 35 years old Gevorg Talshyan shot by a sniper are still
under the supervision of doctors, but fortunately their lives are not
in danger.

As the head of the Community of Armenian Evangelical Churches of Syria
Harutyun Selimyan informed us, all in all situation in Syria is calm,
although there are some clashes in several regions. According to him
the main problem is economics. There is no food, medicines and it’s
hard for people to take care for their daily needs.

More than 30,000 people, about 40 Armenians among them, were killed in
Syria during 18 months of clashes.

Yerevan man commits suicide near parents’ grave

NEWS.AM
October 13, 2012 | 14:08

YEREVAN. – A person committed suicide in Armenia’s capital city
Yerevan, on Saturday at around 10am.

Fifty-eight-year-old H. Babloyan ended his life by hanging himself
with an iron pipe cable at the kiosk located in a Yerevan cemetery.
The Police press service confirmed this information to Armenian
News-NEWS.am.

It was found out that the man had committed suicide nearby his
parents’ grave and his son-in-law had informed about this incident.

A forensic medical examination is commissioned, an investigation is
launched, and the circumstances are being ascertained, the Police
informed.

Audits as Party Attack?: Corruption alleged at ministries formerly
headed by PAP members

Society | 12.10.12 | 16:12

By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

The Government continues to reveal new violations at the ministries
formerly under Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) leadership, which Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan has qualified as `disgraceful’.

Following President Serzh Sargsyan’s much-discussed September meeting
with the cabinet, during which he criticized the government for
shortcomings and kickbacks in the sphere of state-budget-funded
procurement, audits have been carried out at the ministries of urban
development, healthcare and defense.

The audits have led to the detention of one urban development ministry
employee, Republican Vazgen Khachikyan, who is also the former head of
social welfare service (it operates under the ministry of labor and
social affairs that, again, used to be under PAP leadership).

For violations in delivery of purchases to the Ministry of Defense,
director of Kapan’s meet processing factory has been detained, and
earlier Lieutenant-General Arshaluys Paytyan, in charge of
coordinating the ministry’s purchase and delivery, was dismissed, as
was the leader of Procurement Assistance Center non-governmental
commercial organization.

The Control Chamber’s most recent revelation has been on drug
procurement, as well as medical institutions’ failure to fulfill their
tax duties. The violations occurred during the leadership of former
minister, PAP member Harutyun Kushkyan. The same goes for the
violations at the urban development ministry.

During Thursday’s session at the health ministry, the head of the
Finance Ministry’s department of audit and financial control stated
that in 2009-2010 and this year in February and April, the health
ministry acquired ten drug titles on state money, `making 600 million
drams’ (around $1.5 million) worth of unjustified purchases and
unnecessary spending’. The government audit revealed that the drugs
had been bought for prices higher than the market rate.

The State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition
(SCPEC) had earlier studied the drug market and identified violations
in drug procurement tenders at 80 percent of the monitored 137 medical
institutions, many didn’t even hold tenders. SCPEC stated that in 2011
the state budget suffered 1.5 billion drams ($3.7 million) worth of
damage only because of drug procurement violations.

And, according to the State Revenue Committee, the majority of medical
institutions have 50-60 percent higher profit than they show.

The premier has warned that delinquent officials `from now on will
bear personal responsibility’.

PAP has not offered any comment on these developments or speculations
that the investigations are singling out the political party.

Zhoghovurd: Inspections launched in orphanages, nursing homes

TERT.AM
10:22 – 13.10.12

The paper says it has learned from sources that the State Commission
for Protection of Economic Competition continues its inspections in
the state procurement sector.

This time, the orphanages and nursing homes in Armenia’s regions have
reportedly come under target. According to the paper, there have been
numerous flagrant abuses in the sector, which are going to be made
public soon.

Iranian citizen smuggles over 4 kgs of opium into Armenia

2012-10-12 12:50:36

As a result of the operational and intelligence activities conducted
by the Armenian National Security Service (NSS) agencies,
Tehran-Yerevan bus route passenger, Islamic Republic of Iran citizen
Shahlayi Hamid Jalal (born in 1955) was detained Thursday on suspicion
of drug smuggling.
As a result of his baggage inspection, 4.2 kilograms of opium was
found in the secret compartment of his suitcase, NSSPressCenter
informs.
Shahlayi Hamid Jalal is arrested and NSS is conducting a criminal investigation.

Zhoghovurd: Blatant misuse of state resources in orphanages and old
people’s homes

12:33 13/10/2012 » Daily press

Armenia’s State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition
(SCPEC) continues inspections in the state procurement sector,
Zhoghovurd reports.

Recent inspections targeting orphanages and old people’s homes in
Yerevan and Armenian provinces have found many cases of blatant misuse
of state resources which will be published later, the paper writes.

Source: Panorama.am