Author: Maral Chavushian

Armenia not planning to quit CSTO – Foreign Ministry

Maral Chavushian
Kyrgyzstan - Nov 24 2023

AKIPRESS.COM - Armenia does not consider possible withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization and Eurasian Economic Union and does not plan to raise the issue of withdrawal of the 102nd Russian military base from Gyumri, Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan said, Tass reported.

"There are no such themes on our agenda now," he said.

Prime Minister Pashinyan skipped CSTO Summit in Minsk on November 23.

Armenia also skipped the joint meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers, Defense Ministers and Security Council Secretaries.

CSTO includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

https://akipress.com/news:744959:Armenia_not_planning_to_quit_CSTO_-_Foreign_Ministry/

Unmasking Azerbaijan’s War Crimes: The Urgent Need for Accountability

Maral Chavushian
Nov 9 2023

The issue of war crimes committed by Azerbaijan continues to remain at the forefront of the international community’s attention and public scrutiny.  Of particular concern are the incidents following Azerbaijan’s deadly attack on the Republic of Artsakh from September 19th to 21st, resulting in the deportation of the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In light of these events, along with Armenia’s recent ratification of the Rome Statute, it is crucial to examine the brutal war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the recent past.

This examination is vital to properly assess the xenophobic policies of the Azerbaijani side and the potential dangers they pose.

The internet, the International Court, and the press have already discussed a series of crimes attributed to the Azerbaijani side. Prominent among these are well-known footages depicting killings in 2020, as well as the execution of Armenian soldiers during the military aggression against Armenia in September 2022.

However, there are lesser-known episodes that require attention to highlight the specific inhumane policies of Azerbaijan, their actual intentions, and the crimes of war.

https://x.com/araratpetrosian/status/1686322885915197441

https://x.com/araratpetrosian/status/1681414849518026768

Particular attention should be given to footage clearly showing signs of torture and executions. These instances might be of a mass scale and have not faced significant resistance from the international community and organisations.

With the hope that following the adoption of the Rome Statute by Armenia, not only can Armenia hold Azerbaijan accountable for many crimes but also potentially prevent a new Azerbaijani adventure, the presence of the International Criminal Court could play a concerning role.

Amidst numerous anti-Armenian statements by Ilham Aliyev, his regime’s fascist position, and the regime’s committed war crimes, the ratification of the Rome Statute serves as another means for Armenia to safeguard its sovereignty.

This move may not fully replace defunct security systems such as the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) and agreements with Russia. However, it could open a new chapter of accountability for Azerbaijan and its leadership.

In the face of the collapse of the global security system and numerous major regional conflicts, controlling Azerbaijan’s reckless behaviour becomes increasingly challenging.

By Editor-in-Chief “Respublica Armenia” newspaper Ararat Petrosyan.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/11/07/unmasking-azerbaijans-war-crimes/

BP projects have helped fund Azerbaijan military aggression, say campaigners

Maral Chavushian
The Guardian, UK
Nov 8 2023

Exclusive: Global Witness claims UK firm has indirectly helped fund aggression against ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh

Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent

BP’s fossil fuel projects in Azerbaijan have helped fund the military aggression against Karabakh Armenians though the transfer to billions of dollars to the Azerbaijan government since 2020, a campaign group has claimed.

Global Witness said Azerbaijan’s share of two large oil and gas projects operated by the British oil company had earned its government more than four times its military spending since 2020, the year that war broke out in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Analysis by the NGO suggested that Azerbaijan’s economic reliance on BP, its largest foreign investor, had indirectly helped to fund Azerbaijan’s military aggression against ethnic Armenians in the contested region, which has forced more than 100,000 people to flee the territory since early September.

In the same month senior figures representing BP, including its chair, Helge Lund, and former chief executive John Browne, visited Baku to attend the 100th birthday celebrations of Azerbaijan’s late former president Heydar Aliyev and reiterate its commitment “to long-term partnership with Azerbaijan”, according to a company statement.

BP has supplied Baku with oil and gas worth almost $35bn (£28.6bn) since 2020 under a “production-sharing agreement”.

Aliyev’s son, Ilham Aliyev, became president after his father’s death in 2003 after an election that observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe claim fell short of international standards.

Dominic Eagleton, senior campaigner at Global Witness, said: “BP’s longstanding partnership with the Aliyev ‘dictatorship’ has funded Azerbaijan’s militarisation and aggression against Armenia. BP has been happy to keep drilling, having learned nothing from the historic mistake it made in Russia.”

BP abandoned a stake of almost 20% in the Russian oil company Rosneft, at a cost of $24bn to the company, following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine after the UK government expressed concerns over BP’s links to the company given its role in providing fuel for Russia’s military effort.

“Funding violent dictators is always a bad strategy,” Eagleton said.

BP last week posted weaker than expected profits of $3.3bn for the third quarter, compared with $8.2bn in the same months last year, prompting speculation that its sluggish share price and boardroom upheaval could make it a takeover target.

A spokesperson for BP said the company has “been present in Azerbaijan for three decades and we remain committed to operating a safe, reliable, and resilient energy business in the region”.

Under an agreement struck between BP and the Azerbaijan government in the 1990s, the oil company is required to hand a share of the fossil fuels it produces from these projects to the state.

This type of arrangement is commonplace in the oil and gas industry as a way to share the risk and reward of developing fossil fuel projects between foreign companies and the host state.

BP holds the largest share of Azerbaijan’s oil and gas projects alongside other foreign oil companies, including the US firm Exxon Mobil, Norway’s Equinor and the Russian company Lukoil, which hold small minority stakes in the projects.

BP’s financial disclosures show it has supplied Baku with oil and gas worth almost $35bn on the global market since 2020. This sum is more than four times the government’s military spending over the same period, which reached $7.9bn, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

“We support a peaceful settlement to the conflict and hope that a final resolution will soon be found,” the BP spokesperson added. Browne did not respond to requests for comment.

Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has alleged the ethnic Armenian exodus amounted to “a direct act of an ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland”. The claim was strongly rejected by Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, which said that the mass migration by the region’s residents was a “personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation”.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/08/bp-projects-have-helped-fund-azerbaijan-military-aggession-say-campaigners

Asbarez: Azerbaijani Sham Court Sentences Artsakh Resident to 15-Year Prison Term

Maral Chavushian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 November 7, 2023

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Artsakh resident Vagif Khachatryan during his sham trial in Baku on Nov. 7


An Azerbaijani court on Tuesday sentenced Vagif Khachatryan to serve a 15-year prison term after holding a sham trial for several weeks in Baku.

The 68-year-old Khachatryan was abducted by Azerbaijani border guards at the illegal checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor while being transported by the International Committee of the Red Cross to Armenia for medical treatment. He was subsequently transported to Baku where he was remanded into pretrial custody facing charges of allegedly committing genocide against Azerbaijanis during the 1990’s Karabakh Liberation war.

During Tuesday’s court session, Khachatryan again pleaded not guilty to charges, saying he had no role in the events for which he was being charged.

Azerbaijan’s prosecutor charged Khachatryan for allegedly taking part in combat operations that had “59 victims.”

During the course of the sham trial prosecutors put “witnesses” on the stand who said they “recognized” Khachatryan and provided lengthy testimony about his alleged “crimes.”

“Vagif Khachatryan’s lawyer Radmila Abilova made a defense speech in the court session presided over by Zeynal Agayev, chairman of the Baku Military Court. In her speech, the lawyer asked for the acquittal of Vagif Khachatryan. Then Vagif Khachatryan was given the last word. He said he does not consider himself guilty and asked for the acquittal,” Azerbaijani media reported.

Throughout the trial, Khachatryan was identified as being a citizen of Armenia.

Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said the trial went against all international norms.

”Despite clear rejection of any false accusation, the 68-year-old resident of Nagorno-Karabakh was ‘sentenced’ to 15-year prison term after after a month of mock ‘trail’/show in Baku,” Badalyan said in a social media post on Tuesday.

Anahit Manasyan, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender called Khachatryan’s “trial” absurd and urged international human rights organizations to immediately take action.

”Vagif Khachatryan, abducted by Azerbaijani forces in the Lachin corridor, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Baku, without observing the international legal standards and guarantees related to human rights,” Minasyan said in a social media post.

“International Human Rights organizations should respond immediately,” she added.

Media: Armenia proposed Russia sign agreement to circumvent Rome Statute

Maral Chavushian
y! News
Nov 2 2023
Elsa Court, The Kyiv Independent news desk

Armenia invited Russia to sign a bilateral agreement that would allow Yerevan to bypass rules relating to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for Russian dictator , according to local media reports on Nov. 2.

Armenia recently ratified the ICC's Rome Statute, making it one of 124 countries obliged to arrest Putin if he sets foot in the country, after he was issued with an ICC arrest warrant in March 2023 for his role in the mass deportation of Ukrainian children.

Armenia's proposal to Russia was made "several months before the ratification," Hakob Arshakyan, the deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament, reportedly told a parliamentary briefing.

The agreement would have ensured that "ratification would not affect our relations." Yerevan has not yet received a response from Moscow, according to Arshakyan.

"However, there is still enough time before the Rome Statute comes into force," the deputy speaker said.

On Oct.3, the Armenian parliament voted to ratify the Rome Statute. Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan then ratified the statute, Armenia's Presidential Office announced on Oct. 13.

The ruling enters into force 60 days after signing.

Armenia first signed the Rome Statute in 1998 but failed to ratify it. The process resumed in 2022.

The treaty's ratification comes in the wake of Azerbaijan's victory over the self-declared ethnic Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which was defeated by Azerbaijani forces on Sept. 20.

Russian "peacekeepers" were stationed in the area to stop violence between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, but did nothing to prevent Azerbaijan's Sept. 20 offensive. Tensions between Armenia and their long-time ally Russia have since risen.

The ICC asserts that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" that Putin holds direct accountability for supervising the deportations and that he neglected to exert authority over Russian soldiers and civilians executing the crime across occupied Ukrainian regions from the onset of Russia's all-out war against Ukraine.

Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official allegedly overseeing the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia, was also issued an arrest warrant by the ICC in March 2023.

A Turkish secret hiding in plain sight

Maral Chavushian
BBC Travel, UK
Oct 28 2023
By Stefania D'Ignoti28th October 2023
In the border city of Gaziantep, a secret jazz cafe is helping residents reconcile with the city's turbulent past and offering hope for the future.
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On Wednesday and Saturday nights, if you follow the narrow, stone streets in Gaziantep, Turkey's old Armenian district to an unmarked silver door and knock three times, you're in for a treat. 

Moments later, a man with a long white ponytail and round glasses will appear, welcoming you to his cafe, Jazz ve Kahve, and whisking you away for a night of food and traditional Middle Eastern music. Inside a room filled with Persian carpets, locals will be listening to the melody of a ney (a Turkish wind instrument) intertwining with that of a Syrian lute-like oud in a 19th-Century Armenian mansion overlooking a scenic courtyardstrewn with dangling lights. 

"Gaziantep is a city at a crossroads in the heart of old Mesopotamia. When they were under the same empire, Armenians, Turks and Arabs all coexisted peacefully," said Murad Uçaner, the ponytailed cafe's owner. "In these few square metres, we are trying to revive that ancient vibe."

In the past few years, Uçaner's intimate cafe has become an institution in Gaziantep – one of the cities impacted by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the Turkish-Syrian border in February 2023. Several buildings around this old Armenian neighbourhood of Kayacık were damaged or collapsed, but Jazz ve Kahve is still standing, and Uçaner is motivated to preserve its legacy. 

"This is not just a place where people eat and drink," he said. "It is also a place where people from different cultures and countries meet, exchange information and get to know each other's cultures."

The story of Jazz Kahve goes back to 2017 when Uçaner, a historian, translator and novelist, became fascinated with the history of Armenians in Gaziantep. While noticing the construction of more and more high-rise buildings across the city, Kayacık's cobbled streets and Ottoman konak residences made him feel nostalgic for a past he wanted to revive. 

Uçaner researched archival footage of the area and stumbled on a photograph taken in 1907 whose caption mentioned it was an Armenian house. As Uçaner explained, not only is the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks that took place during World War One something that is generally denied in Turkey, but he never learned that Gaziantep was once home to a thriving Armenian, Kurdish and Arab population. "It made me question the accuracy of the history they teach us," Uçaner said. "I discovered that even though Armenians survived for thousands of years in these lands, there have been attempts to erase the memory of their presence here."

Ümit Kurt, a Middle East historian and the author of the book The Armenians of Aintab: The Economics of Genocide in an Ottoman Province, explained that approximately 32,000 Armenians lived in Gaziantep before WW1, but as the war intensified, most were deported to Syria and other nations to remove this non-Muslim ethnic group from Anatolia.

For nearly a century since the war's end, most of these families' homes were left abandoned and in ruins. But after Gaziantep was named Turkey's capital of gastronomy in 2015, many of these crumbling buildings were transformed into cafes and hotels in an effort to draw tourists while preserving the architectural heritage of the city. 

Inspired to take part in the city's collective urban renewal, Uçaner hatched a plan to combine his love of history and music. 

"For 10 years, he dreamt about opening a cafe, but he was worried he would have had to leave his job in translation," said Murad's sister, Mujgan Şahin, who helps him run the cafe. "One day I stumbled upon an abandoned Armenian building dating back to the 1890s. I encouraged Murad to rent it."

After a year-long restoration, Jazz ve Kahve's (which means "jazz and coffee") opened in 2018. Uçaner never had to leave his full-time job, and the cafe has become a hub for the city's intellectuals, who come to share knowledge about Gaziantep's shared Turkish, Armenian and Syrian history.

After knocking at the silver door, visitors walk by the building's 19th-Century frescoes and engravings in the Armenian alphabetas Uçaner explains the area's unique history. Sometimes, he even guides guests around the neighbourhood to see similar examples of Gaziantep's multi-ethnic past, such as the Papirus Cafe, which was once the house of a prominent Armenian politician. Guests are then treated to Turkish and Arabic music and can order Turkish teas or wines alongside traditional Syrian food that was once commonly eaten in Gaziantep under Ottoman rule, such as muhammara (walnuts and roasted red peppers) and mutabbal (aubergine dip). 

Ironically, the recent earthquakes that struck the region have made the cafe's role as a cultural meeting point even more symbolic. 

When Uçaner was jolted awake by the earthquake (whose epicentre was near Gaziantep) that February morning, he was scared to see if his cafe was still standing. Hours later, he saw that the minaret and dome of the city's famous Liberation Mosque (which was formerly an Armenian church) located just in front of his cafe were in ruins. 

"It was almost like a heartbreak," Uçaner said. The region's seismic capacity had destroyed much of its rich history, and he feared Gaziantep's culture and past may one day be forgotten. As such, Uçaner says he now feels his role as one of the custodians of Gaziantep's fading multicultural past is more important than ever.


Gaziantep's famous Liberation Mosque was formerly an Armenian church and was destroyed in the recent earthquake (Credit: Carola Cappellari)

"It is important to preserve the memory and transform it into a lesson for future generations to not hate your neighbour, because we were all one population once," Uçaner said. "These buildings speak for us, and they need to be protected and repurposed to be part of our present." 

Since the 1970s, Gaziantep has grown from a 120,000-person town of primarily ethnic Turks to a bustling two-million-person metropolis – and much of this growth is due to the Syrian civil war. Thanks in large part to its location along the southern border with Syria, Gaziantep has absorbed an estimated 500,000 Syrian refugees fleeing the nearby conflict. Despite the fact that Syrians once peacefully co-existed here with Turks and Armenians, the recent influx of Arabic-speaking residents has led to tensions. 

Yet, Uçaner hopes his secret jazz cafe can not only preserve the memory of a more cosmopolitan Gaziantep but serve as a bridge connecting its past with its present. In recent years, it has displayed photo exhibits documenting the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis and hosted panels and lectures about the city's multicultural past.

In 2021, Uçaner and several customers – including a sociologist, an urbanist and a musician – also launched the project Memory of Anteb to highlight the architectural and cultural legacy of Armenians and Muslims who once lived in Gaziantep.

"The history of Gaziantep was written by official historians in line with the denial policy of the country. We wanted to rewrite that history in a more peaceful present," Uçaner said. 

Today, during lazy summer afternoons or cold winter nights, artists and musicians of all backgrounds come to drink a hot cup of tavsan kani çay (red "rabbit blood tea"), chat and get inspired by music from around the region. 

"It's here, playing with other musicians, that I learnt we play the same songs but with different lyrics, depending on our language," said Ezzat Dahman, a Syrian-Palestinian oud player who regularly performs Turkish and Syrian music at the cafe. "That shows just how similar our cultures are and how many things in common we have."

Dahman had the idea to launch his own music project at the cafe, called Music Against Racism, to bring Turks, Syrians and Kurds closer together. "The idea will be to play Syrian and Turkish traditional songs that have the same melody together, to foster mutual understanding."

Regular customers are also treated to Turkish folk music, which bears traces of Arab and Armenian melodies. "We like to discover new forms of music we had never been accustomed to, like jazz or classic," said customer Irem Deniz Adali, holding a glass of Suryani red wine, typical of south-eastern Turkey, as she tapped the wooden table to the rhythm of an old folk song. "But what's even more beautiful is how this place gives us a chance to revive the old, diverse, festive past of this region."

The earthquake may have temporarily stopped these gatherings, but they quickly returned in full force as the building didn't suffer any major structural damage. "If you're aware of a place's past, its community can move forward to build a more peaceful present," Uçaner smiled, before welcoming a few other guests at the door.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231027-a-turkish-secret-hiding-in-plain-sight

AW: ARS International Convention elects new Central Executive Board

Maral Chavushian
 Armenian Relief Society International Inc. Nonprofit News, Announcements 0

The 73rd International Convention of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) was held in Yerevan, Armenia, from October 16 to 20, 2023, with the participation of 51 delegates, outgoing members of the Central Executive Board, guests, representatives of sister organizations and committees, staff members and 66 observers. 

The Convention concluded with the election of the Society’s new Central Executive Board (CEB). The CEB’s function is to govern the international organization’s administrative and organizational aspects. The following members were elected to serve for the 2023-2027 term: 

Arousyak Melkonian (Western USA) – Chairperson
Talin Daghlian (Eastern USA) – Vice-Chairperson
Nayiri Balanian (Eastern USA) – Secretary
Annie Kechichian (Western USA) – Treasurer
Irma Kassabian (Eastern USA) – Accountant
Zharmen Mirzakhanyan (Western USA) – Advisor
Arminee Karabetian (Canada) – Advisor
Zoya Kocharyan (Armenia) – Advisor
Siran Ambarjian (Middle East, SOKH) – Advisor
Liza Tchalikian Gillibert (Europe, France) – Advisor
Nora Sevagian (Australia) – Advisor

  •  Bio
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Armenian Relief Society, Inc. (ARS) is an independent, non-governmental and non-sectarian organization which serves the humanitarian needs of the Armenian people and seeks to preserve the cultural identity of the Armenian nation. It mobilizes communities to advance the goals of all sectors of humanity. For well over a century, it has pioneered solutions to address the challenges that impact our society.


ANCA testimony to U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee calls for an end to Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan

Maral Chavushian

 13:49,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), in testimony submitted this week to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called upon America’s next Ambassador to Israel to advance U.S. interests by working to end Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan and encouraging Israel to join with the U.S. government and the American people in recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

In testimony submitted by Programs Director Alex Galitsky, the ANCA explained that up to 70% of Azerbaijan’s arsenal is sourced in Israel, and that these weapons – among them illegal cluster munitions, missile systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles – played a central role in Azerbaijan’s subjugation and ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the perpetration of war crimes against the Nagorno-Karabakh population, including targeting civilian infrastructure, churches, schools, and medical facilities, ANCA reports. 

“As a party to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict resolution process, the United States has a responsibility to ensure that our military partners are not undermining long-term prospects for peace by pouring fuel on raging regional fires,” stated Galitsky. He further stressed that the US must ensure that “any Israeli military technology that is jointly developed with or subsidized by the U.S. is not used in a way that further undermines U.S. interests, promotes regional instability, or violates international law.”

Regarding the Armenian Genocide, the ANCA urged that Israel Ambassador-designate Jacob Lew “impress upon the leadership of Israel, a nation of genocide survivors, the moral imperative of ending its denial of the Armenian Genocide and joining with the American people in honest recognition and remembrance of this crime.” As US Treasury Secretary during the Obama Administration, Lew led a U.S. delegation to Armenia on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 2015.

The ANCA testimony went on to note that the U.S. Ambassador should raise with the Israeli government the growing number of violations of the rights of Armenians and other faith-based and ethnic groups in Jerusalem. According to U.S. State Department human rights and religious freedom reports, “numerous cases of extremists spitting on and physically assaulting Christian clergy and pilgrims – including Armenians.”

“Such hate crimes need to be confronted wherever they take place,” stated Galitsky.

The ANCA’s full testimony is .

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1122500.html?fbclid=IwAR2RV4YHiZiX3lNlvL4Fero0FFcwLTOpX4tbN6l3XPX8CeKrFpMo_oPTWUI

Film: Armenian Haunting (2018) Reviews and free to watch on YouTube

Maral Chavushian
Movies and Mania
Oct 19 2023

‘Denial is a hundred-year-old curse.’
Armenian Haunting is a 2018 horror film about a journalist who turns into an unwilling ghost hunter while researching the sudden deaths in her family and their connection to a paranormal mystery…

Written, produced and directed by Art Arutyunyan (director of Alpha Delta Zatan; producer of Dead by Christmas; Bayou Ghost Story; Reel Nightmare).

The Reel Nightmare Films production stars Vaneh Assadourian, Paul Mariskanish and Aneela Qureshi.

Reviews:
“The paranormal elements are brief and show up on just a handful of occasions, and elements like recorded footage getting glitches on it seemed pointless and unrelated to the haunting aspect, in general, the pacing all seemed a bit off. While it was interesting to find out a genocide of the Armenian people occurred, as a horror this just didn’t work.” 4 out of 10, The Rotting Zombie

“As events play out the genocide looms larger, given that the curse stems back to a perceived betrayal that occurred in its wake, but it’s difficult to remain engaged in the proceedings, even as they accrue real-life import, simply because a series of poorly-realized scenes (especially a couple of the purportedly “scary” ones) are so unintentionally comical that they literally take you out of the flow of events and turn your attention to shortcomings in the production’s execution.” Trash Film Guru

Armenian Haunting is available to Prime Video subscribers in the US, UK and Germany.

Cast and characters:
Vaneh Assadourian … Maro
Jay Dersahagian … David
Kyle Patrick Darling … Garo
Chris Green … Eva
Tamara Grigorian … Grandma/Tatik
Andrew DeVitre … Sevan
Aneela Qureshi …Aida
Paul Mariskanish … Arsen
Mona Arkin … Clara
Teneisha Campbell … Doctor Freedman
Carly Alyssa Thorne … Lena
Aida Arutyunyan … Ms Grigorian
Kevin Antonio … Skateboarder

Budget:
$30,000 (estimated)

Technical specs:
1 hour 18 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.78: 1

Watch the trailer at 

Belgian businessmen visit Armenia to explore new opportunities for stronger ties

Maral Chavushian

 14:08,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. Belgian businessmen have arrived in Armenia to strengthen and enhance economic relations between the two countries.

Eric Bletard, Trade and Investment Counselor at Wallonia Export and Investment Agency said at a press conference on October 19 that the delegation includes businessmen from the areas of pharmaceuticals, construction, electronics and waste processing.

“Our businessmen have come to Armenia with concrete goals, they plan to visit a number of enterprises of Armenian partners. The Belgian businessmen are interested in both the Armenian market as well as the opportunities of accessing other markets through Armenia,” Bletard said. He said that the areas of healthcare and energy could also be considered.

According to Bletard, trade turnover between Armenia and Belgium grew significantly in 2021-2022, and they expect 50% growth in 2023.

“There are opportunities for cooperation in the service sector and technologies. I am highlighting the tech sector. Armenia has serious reputation abroad from this perspective. Belgium requires good specialists in the tech sector, and Armenia can help in this issue,” he said.

Ambassador of Belgium to Armenia Eric De Muynck said the two countries have big potential to develop economic relations in the most various sectors. He said that the newly opened embassy in Armenia can play an important role in this issue.

The Ambassador said he has proposed the Armenian officials to consider cooperation opportunities in pharmaceuticals and new technologies. All proposals are under consideration, he said.

Belgium-Armenia Chamber of Commerce President Valery Safaryan said they are trying to serve as a “unique bridge” for the businessmen of the two countries. The organization was founded 18 years ago.