Author: Tambiyan Samvel

 14:37, 4 July 2022

YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. The Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia organized an international conference today titled “The Arab states of the Gulf and the Armenian communities: current trends and issues”, aimed at discussing the cooperation opportunities between Armenia and the Arab states of Persian Gulf, as well as the development tendencies of Armenian communities in these countries.

A number of diplomats, representatives of academic circle were attending the conference.

In his remarks Armenia’s Ambassador to Tunisia and Morocco Arshak Poladyan said that the region, they are going to talk about today, is quite an interesting region in the East, where the interests of superpowers clash.

“Oil and religious factor in this region really turned into a political factor, and the region is interesting in this respect. I want to note that thanks to major efforts we managed, after Armenia’s independence, to start the process of establishing diplomatic relations with the Arab states of the East, and by 2000 we already had diplomatic relations with almost all Arab countries of the Gulf, except for Saudi Arabia, but we hope that we will manage to create new relations also with this country by the end of the year”, he said.

Ahlam Rashed Al Salami, Chargé D'affaires of the UAE Embassy to Yerevan, said that the Armenian communities are really enjoying high reputation in different parts of the world, and the Armenian community of the United Arab Emirates has a special place among many foreign communities.

“I know that the respectful participants will touch upon the UAE’s Armenian community, the achievements and current challenges. I have prepared a presentation on tolerance and co-existence in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE attaches big attention to tolerance and values in order to strengthen its positions as a global center of tolerance that is creating a respective environment for different cultures of the world, is becoming a homeland for all those nations who live in harmony and work on its land”, Ahlam Rashed Al Salami said.

Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the Yerevan State University, Ruben Melikyan, called this conference another proof that Armenia is a superpower of Orientalism.

“I don’t know when Armenia will become a political, economic and military superpower, but I have no doubt that it is a superpower of Orientalism”, he said, adding that these steps and studies could contribute not only to the development of scientific issues, but also they have a very important significance for the region.

Diaspora-Armenian Tatev Manucharyan says in order to build strong country it's necessary to develop provinces

 11:38, 30 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. Tatev Manucharyan, a Diaspora-Armenian who moved to live in the United States of America at the age of 16, got an opportunity in 2021 to return back to Armenia within the framework of iGorts project and work at the Ministry of Environment by investing her experience and knowledge for improving the field and developing policies and programs.

In an interview to ARMENPRESS, Tatev said that she was born in Yerevan and later moved with her family to Los Angeles. After graduating from school there she studied political science in a university. Later Tatev moved to Europe, lived in the Netherlands and studied EU Legislation in her Master’s Degree.

“After graduating from the university in the Netherlands, I have worked in the same university as a researcher, as well as taught EU Legislation. I would like to state that I have always wished to return to Armenia, work here, and after the war my desire further intensified. I thought what I have done to prevent such phenomena? In other words I left the country and didn’t bring any contribution to my homeland, expect from visiting as a tourist. In fact, I have always dreamed of coming to and living in Armenia, working here, and thus, I decided to come and make my dream true, by contributing to the development of my country”, she said.

Touching upon the problems she faced in Armenia, Tatev said she almost didn’t have any problems, but mentioned some phenomena. “As my work is connected with environment, I would like very much if the residents of Yerevan and the population of Armenia in general show more care to the city and the environment. It’s very sad to see garbage everywhere, in cities, in nature, in our beautiful sites, on roads. I am more concerned about the waste management issue and the air pollution in Yerevan, but as for other issues, I got used to them”, she said.

Tatev says different countries have advantages both good sides and bad sides, but you don’t feel at home in any country than in your birthplace. “I was born and grew up in Yerevan, and this feeling is very very important for me. Being here and feeling like home is very nice”, she said.

As for the plans for the future, Tatev Manucharyan said they are not clear yet as she has not completed the iGorts program, it will end in September 2022. “It can be said the idea of staying in Armenia has always been on my mind. I hope there will be more opportunities at this period so that I can work and live in Armenia. In any case after the war I understood that I cannot help my homeland only with visiting Armenia for a certain time and as a tourist”, she noted.

Talking about her dreams, she said: “Perhaps now my biggest dream is to see Armenia strong, to have a country which we will be proud of. Armenia has many good sides, but I see potential in all areas that is not used much. I would like to see more investments, both public and private, in education sector, so that we could be leaders in this and other areas. My desire is for us to be a leader in the region in all areas. The issue of development of provinces is also very important for me. We could develop our country only by developing our provinces”, she stated.

Interview by Gayane Gaboyan

Photos by Hayk Manukyan

“Bilateral intergovernmental consultations grew from economic frameworks into strategic dialogues. I am happy that today we have a rich agenda which covers many areas, from legal reforms and prevention of corruption to energy and information technology,” the Deputy PM said, speaking on June 30 during the celebration of US Independence Day.

 13:16, 1 July 2022

YEREVAN, JULY 1, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan nominated Hovakim Hovakimyan for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court, the Presidential Office said.

The judge of the Constitutional Court will be elected by the Parliament in a closed voting.

 17:53,

YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. The "Civil Contract" faction of the National Assembly of Armenia came up with the initiative to convene an extraordinary session on July 1. The issue of relieving Ishkhan Saghatelyan and Vahe Hakobyan of their posts is on the agenda.

The session is scheduled on June 30, at 19:15.

Ishkhan Sagahtelyan is the Vice President of the National Assembly from the opposition. Vahe Hakobyan is the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs.

 12:14,

YEREVAN, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS. Tourism sector in Armenia is gradually recovering after a certain decline connected with the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 war, President of the Armenian Tourism Federation Mekhak Apresyan said in an interview to Armenpress.

The number of incoming tourists has reached around 250,000 in the first quarter of 2022, which, according to Apresyan, is 2,9 times more than the figure of the same period of the previous year. “But, unfortunately, it is less compared to the first quarter of 2020 because, as you know, the pandemic has not started yet that time”, he said.

Every place in Armenia is interesting for foreign visitors. Apresyan says the most difficult question is that which direction is the most attractive for them.

He says that each province and community has its attractions, and all tourists spending their vacations in Armenia are aware of this. “Packages are formed based on the purpose of the visit to Armenia, as well as based on their taste and expectations”, he notes.

Mekhak Apresyan says that most of the tourists visiting Armenia are individuals, as the group tourism has not totally resumed yet. There are no group visits from Europe, Japan, China, US, etc. “There is still caution connected with the instable situation in the region”.

As for the Russia-Ukraine relations, he said that many Russians visited Armenia in early March, but not for tourism purposes. “Due to the Ukraine crises, nearly 115,000 visits have been registered from Russia, 4000-5000 from Ukraine and Belarus. The active season starts in mid-March. The visitors are mostly Iranians who prefer to celebrate their New Year in our country”, he said.

Now there are visits from Russia for tourism purposes.

“The Russian Ruble was stabilized, but in early March it depreciated, the tickets were quite expensive and were not favorable for tourism purposes”, he said.

Commenting on the question that many Russian and Ukrainian tourists complain over the high prices of renting an apartment in Armenia, Mekhak Apresyan said the prices of apartments for daily rent have not increased much.

“Apartments were mainly provided for daily rent, but when you multiply the daily rent by a month, you see that the amount is the same. Before the Ukrainian crisis, the price of apartments for daily rent in our country has been at least 10,000 drams. As the demand rose, there was a situation when they were removing locals living for a rent, and were increasing the prices. But this had no connection with tourism, the demand increased, and the people were ready to pay”, he said.  

As for the marketing policy required for tourism development, Mekhak Apresyan said many important systematic measures need to be taken today such as reforms, personnel policy.

“Armenia’s legislation should be in accordance with today’s challenges and developments, should meet today’s conditions. It is necessary to improve the border passing procedures”, he says.

He called the mechanism existing before the pandemic good, as Armenia had a visa-free regime for more than 60 countries of the world.

“For the other countries the visa was also very simple, people were able to easily obtain it online. However, restrictions were imposed because of coronavirus, and these mechanisms started operating in a limited way, but now the opportunity of resuming them is being discussed”, the President of the Armenian Tourism Federation said.  

Reporting by Liana Sargsyan