Author: Tambiyan Samvel

 15:09,

YEREVAN, MARCH 21, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan delivered speech at the 144^th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on March 21, the Parliament’s press service said.

The main direction of the agenda of the Assembly was the joint fight against climate change, which also requires a coordinated work of the parliaments of different countries.

In his remarks the Armenian Speaker of Parliament touched upon the side impact of the climate change on international processes. He told the partners that Armenia is taking active measures to contribute to the efforts of the international community directed against the climate change and man-made disasters.

The Speaker said Armenia adopted a national adaptation program to climate change action, which deepens the cooperation between sectoral initiatives. Presenting the Armenian peculiarities of climate matters, Alen Simonyan said within the frames of a number of international agreements the Armenian government approved the 2021-2030 investment program which will contribute to the reduction of the level of emissions and increase of green zones.

He said Armenia is promoting the policy of increasing renewable energy in energy production field, adding that respective legislative reforms are being implemented.

Given the global environmental challenges and their irreversible effect on climate, the Speaker of Parliament reaffirmed Armenia’s readiness to cooperate with parliaments of all member states and international organizations on this matter.

Summing up his speech, Alen Simonyan said parliaments are responsible for conventions and agreements, as well as for reforms of national legislation, and the Armenian Parliament is properly controlling these processes.

 11:29, 17 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. Media regulators in Ottawa have formally outlawed RT and RT France on Wednesday, saying their programming went against government policy and undermined democracy, RT reports.

After reviewing complaints from the public, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced that “the continued authorization to distribute RT and RT France is not in the public interest.”

Most Canadian operators have already pulled the networks off air, citing the conflict in Ukraine.

 15:53,

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has appointed George Akhalkatsi as the new head of its Yerevan Resident Office, replacing Dimitri Gvindadze, the EBRD said in a statement.

“Mr Akhalkatsi will take up his new role on 1 May 2022 and be based in the Armenian capital. He will oversee the Bank’s investments and operations in Armenia, reporting to Catarina Bjorlin Hansen, Regional Director for the Caucasus.  

Mr Akhalkatsi, a Georgian national, started his career as a lawyer before moving into banking at Société Générale. He joined the EBRD in 2009 and his most recent position was Associate Director, Senior Banker based in Tbilisi.

He has previously worked with the EBRD’s Manufacturing & Services and Credit Risk Management teams in London. He has a Masters in Law from Tbilisi State University and an MBA from INSEAD.

As the new Head of Office, Mr Akhalkatsi will draw on his significant country-level and cross-sectoral experience to maintain the Bank’s successful partnership with Armenia”, the statement says.

The EBRD has been working in Armenia since 1992. Its focus is on helping to diversify the economy by supporting investment in various sectors, as well as promoting the development of the financial sector and small and medium-sized enterprises.

To date, the Bank has invested more than €1.8 million in 200 projects across the country.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu meets with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) in Antalya, Turkey, . (Reuters Photo)

 11:30, 21 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. An F-5 fighter jet crashed on Monday morning near a school in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz, IRNA reports.

While flying over Tabriz the fighter jet crashed in a neighborhood in northwest of the city, Shahid Fakouri Air Force Base said.

Initial reports suggest the fighter has crashed near a school.

Mohammad Baqer Honarbar, a provincial official, told IRNA that two pilots and one civilian are said to be killed in the crash.

 11:11, 25 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and heads of government of the remaining member states of the Eurasian Economic Union met with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Nur-Sultan, the Armenian PM’s Office reports.

The President of Kazakhstan welcomed the heads of the delegations of the EAEU states, expressing hope that the session of the Eurasian Inter-governmental Council in Nur-Sultan will be held effectively.

In his remarks the Armenian PM said that the Kazakh President has noted right that today’s session, meeting coincide with the drastic escalation of the geopolitical situation.

“It’s obvious that we are in a sensitive period, in sensitive geopolitical tectonic processes, and in this context, of course, the Eurasian Economic Union is an important format in order to develop the economies of our countries.

Of course, it’s obvious that sanctions will have their effect on the economic environment in the Eurasian region, and in this sense, we need to discuss what operational decisions we must adopt in order for that negative consequences to be minimal and if possible, to bypass them, by taking respective steps.

You were right, the results of 2021 for the Eurasian Economic Union are quite positive because last year was already a crisis year, but the overall volume of trade and economic ties within the EAEU, the trade turnover have increased, which is quite a positive signal for all of us”, Nikol Pashinyan said.

He emphasized that there is a potential to expand the Eurasian economic region. “There are observer states, with which we are cooperating quite effectively. There is also a certain interest by other countries to intensify the ties with the Eurasian Economic Union. I think, this is, overall, a positive process and I hope that the Eurasian Economic Union, we all, will manage to carry out such a policy so that the EAEU is strengthened as an economic platform in the current situation and continues giving an impetus to the development of economies of our countries”, Pashinyan noted.