Author: Tambiyan Samvel

 12:43, 9 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 9, ARMENPRESS. About 256,000 tourists visited Armenia in July 2023, which is the best statistical data compared to the same period of previous years. About 189,000 tourists visited Armenia in July 2022, and 202,000 people in the same period of 2019, the Armenian Tourism Committee said in a press release.

According to the Tourism Committee, the number of tourist visits in 2023 in the period from January to July is 1.26 million, which is 29% more than in 2019.

Anna Margaryan, Media and Public Relations Manager of the Tourism Committee, noted that most tourists came from Russia, Georgia and Iran.

She stressed that the Tourism Committee is doing its best to reveal the tourism opportunities of Armenia.

“We are very actively participating in international tourism events, exhibitions, where we represent Armenia as an attractive tourist destination, Armenia’s tourist product, and potential. We also transfer the data of Armenian travel companies to local travel companies so that they can further develop bilateral cooperation in the field of tourism,” she said.

Anna Margaryan mentioned that they also organize exploratory visits to Armenia, that is, they invite bloggers, influencers, media representatives with a large audience in their countries to cover their visits, which, in turn, brings new tourists from these countries to Armenia.

This year, the Tourism Committee also supports the implementation of 17 festivals of different formats and preferences throughout Armenia, which, according to the committee’s media and public relations manager, has ensured and will continue to ensure a large flow of tourists to Armenia.

 15:01, 9 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 9, ARMENPRESS. On August 9, the Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan, received the head of the EU delegation, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, who is completing her diplomatic mission in Armenia, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said in a press release.  

Narek Mkrtchyan commended the effective cooperation with the ambassador and emphasized the latter’s contribution to ensuring the smooth progress of joint programs in the field of social protection and in the works carried out in crisis situations.

Minister Mkrtchyan noted that today the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, including about 30,000 children and more than 9,000 people with disabilities, lack the necessary living conditions, and that now the active role of the international community is urgent in order to prevent a humanitarian disaster.

“Thanks to your active involvement, we have quite an impressive circle of interaction. There are enough institutional foundations to further deepen and develop the implementation of joint programs and initiatives in the field of social protection,” the Minister said.

The ambassador emphasized the importance of the works carried out jointly with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

“We really had a high level of cooperation with the Ministry. We have always tried to provide necessary support to Armenia, especially in crisis situations. I am confident that we will continue to combine our forces and ensure that joint initiatives are complementary to each other,” the ambassador  said.

During the meeting, the ambassador also highly appreciated the cooperation of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs with the civil society and emphasized that the invested efforts and significant results are also noticeable in the strengthening of gender policy, the fight against domestic violence and a number of other directions.

At the end of the meeting, the ambassador expressed her willingness to have continuous cooperation even after completing the EU mission.

 15:22, 2 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, ARMENPRESS. The kidnapping of Nagorno-Karabakh resident Vagif Khachatryan by Azerbaijan constitutes extraordinary rendition in terms of international law and a due process is therefore ruled out, attorney Siranush Sahakyan has said.

Speaking to reporters on August 2, Sahakyan, who represents the interests of Armenian Prisoners of War at the ECHR, did not rule out the Azerbaijan actually deceived and used the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for kidnapping Vagif Khachatryan.

“International law provides for extraordinary rendition, extradition and transfers. If Azerbaijan deemed Vagif Khachatryan to be a criminal, it could have brought that criminal into territorial jurisdiction by way or international criminal law cooperation, through cooperation with the authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia, Russia, and why not Interpol,” Sahakyan said, adding that Azerbaijan’s official explanation for arresting Khachatryan is untrustworthy because the Armenian Ombudsman has already debunked allegations that the man was internationally wanted.

Sahakyan pointed out that Azerbaijan did not provide any information to the Red Cross and brought Khachatryan into Azerbaijani jurisdiction through deception, where he was arbitrarily arrested.

“There are two possible scenarios. Upon seeing Vagif Khachatryan in the alleged list of international fugitives Azerbaijan had to at least notify the ICRC, and inform them that there is a fugitive who could be placed under arrest after appearing in Azerbaijani jurisdiction. By doing so Azerbaijan would have protected the Red Cross’ international humanitarian mandate, and the Red Cross would have notified Vagif’s family about this,” Sahakyan said, adding that fair processes can’t be expected.

The second scenario is that Azerbaijan did not provide the info to the ICRC and used the organization through deception.

However, the ICRC could have prevented the incident on the ground if it were to react very strongly and escalate the issue up to the highest circles.

The ICRC was supposed to request other organizations to support them and help prevent the obstacles.

The ICRC could be afraid of Azerbaijan’s response, Sahakyan said.

 18:06, 1 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS. Today, Ralph Yirikian, the Director General of “Ucom” CJSC, personally oversaw the unloading process of the equipment of Ericsson, one of the global giants in the supply of modern ICT products, solutions, software, and services, which arrived in Armenia. During a recent press conference, the Director General highlighted that the modernization and expansion of both mobile and fixed networks in Armenia are key pillars of Ucom’s 5-year strategy. The company has already initiated the modernization of the mobile network to make it 5G ready, collaborating with industry leaders like Ericsson.

“We have previously announced the commencement of the re-equipment, development, modernization, and network expansion works, which will be carried out in several stages. The equipment for the first part of the initial phase has already arrived, and we are currently in the process of unloading and installing them at different stations. I want to once again remind our subscribers that a little patience will be required during this extensive network improvement, as there may be intermittent interruptions or temporary degradation in service quality. However, the ultimate goal is to achieve excellent mobile network quality and provide an exceptional experience for our unique and beloved subscribers,” stated Ralph Yirikian, Director General of Ucom.

Besides modernizing the network, Ucom is set to revamp several of its services by replacing the outdated technological platforms and solutions with the most advanced and innovative alternatives.

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council, co-chairman of the Armenian-Russian inter-parliamentary commission Yuri Vorobyev considers that “the Armenian National Assembly should study the consequences of joining the Rome Statute.”

Speaking at the session of the inter-parliamentary commission in Irkutsk, Yuri Vorobyov commented on the March 24 decision of the Constitutional Court of Armenia that the Rome Statute does not contradict the country’s constitution, TASS reports.

“As we understand it, this means that Armenia recognizes the jurisdiction of the Hague Tribunal with regard to all the cases it is studying. We assume that this step by our Armenian colleagues does not have an anti-Russian context, nevertheless, in practice, it tangibly harms Russian-Armenian relations. We urge our allies to once again scrutinize the consequences of joining the Rome Statute and assess possible risks to allied relations with Russia,” Vorobyov said. He noted that a dialog between the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Armenia is currently underway.

 18:29,

YEREVAN, 14 JULY, ARMENPRESS․ The President of the French Senate, Gerard Larcher, announced the need for France to supply defense weapons to Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports,  Larcher wrote on his “Twitter” page.

“I demand to immediately open the Lachin Corridor connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and speed up the supply of defensive weapons by France to Armenia in order to ensure its security,” Larcher wrote after the meeting with the President of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonyan.