Category: 2018

As it is known, Armenia was chosen as the 2018 the host country of the Francophonie Summit to be held on October 11-12, which will preside over this highest instance of the Francophonie for two years.

RA Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Francophonie Ministerial Conference, Edward Nalbandyan, announced at the session of the FCA Political Affairs Committee in Yerevan today that Armenia proudly accepted the decision of the leaders of Francophonie member states and governments to choose Armenia as the host country for the XVII Francophonie Summit. This choice is a sign of solidarity, Armenia’s commitment to serving the Francophonie, Francophone values, and appreciation of the activities carried out for the spread of the Francophonie in our region. This decision was also made in 2015. After the success of the 31st Francophonie Ministerial Conference in Yerevan.

“This meeting provides an opportunity to present to you the priorities set by Armenia in the preparations for the Summit. The summit will be held under the theme “Living together”, “Living together respecting solidarity, humanitarian values ​​and diversity as a basis for peace and prosperity in the Francophone region”. The theme “Living Together” was chosen taking into account the realities existing within Francophonie, I would say even at the international level. We are convinced that by “Living together” respecting the humanitarian values ​​we share, it is possible to contribute to our societies. to the further strengthening of unity and peace and well-being in the Francophone area,” said the RA Foreign Minister.

According to him, the concept of “living together” is well known to the Armenian people, Armenians living in more than a hundred countries of the world have been able to fully integrate into the societies of their host countries, at the same time preserving their national identity and emphasizing the importance of the ability to live together in the spirit of mutual respect, harmony, solidarity, and diversity. Nalbandyan noted that he also expects to work towards creating a new fundamental document of the Francophonie entitled “Living Together”, where the principles and values ​​of the “Living Together” vision can be comprehensively laid down: human rights, democracy, equality of women and men, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, the fight against all forms of radicalization and violent extremism that feed terrorism, xenophobia, hateful ideology, intolerance and discrimination.

“From this point of view, we want the Francophonie youth network to participate in this event and contribute to the creation of this document,” he said.

Edward Nalbandian also added that one of the important events of the summit, which they intend to organize, is the Economic Forum of Francophonie. According to the minister, great importance is attached to the consolidation of Francophone enterprises and professional, institutional networks from the point of view of promoting economic ties and improving the business environment. Armenia aims to establish a network of francophone businessmen during the summit.

During the preliminary investigation of the criminal case investigated by the RA Special Investigative Service regarding the apparent crimes of taking bribes, giving bribes and brokering bribes, the investigator of the RA Investigative Committee revealed cases of receiving bribes and illegally exempting conscripts from mandatory military service or giving deferments in return. This is reported by SIS.

Thus, as a result of the large-scale investigative-judicial actions and operative-detective measures carried out by the RA Special Investigation Service, the RA National Security Service and the RA Police, it was found that a number of persons personally, as well as through an intermediary, paid a particularly large bribe to the senior investigator of the Military Investigative Department of the RA Investigative Committee, personally, as well as through an intermediary, in accordance with pre-arranged agreements.

In return, the latter, using his official position, contributed to the release of a number of conscripts from mandatory military service or to granting deferments.

According to the decision of the investigator of the Special Investigation Service of the RA, the senior investigator of the RA Investigative Committee of the RA Investigative Committee was arrested on the suspicion of receiving a particularly large bribe. Another person was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting bribery.

The preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated by Article 311, Part 4, Clause 2, Article 312, Part 3, Clause 1, and Article 313, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code regarding the above-mentioned apparent crimes is ongoing.

In order to reveal all the circumstances of the crime, urgent investigative actions and operative-investigative measures are being carried out, which will be further informed.

Today, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received the delegation led by Sylvie Bosutro, head of the Yerevan office of the World Bank. 

The government informs that at the meeting Mrs. Bosutro presented the framework of partnership between WB and Armenia for 2018-2022 and the proposed reform agenda based on the government’s 5-year plan. He emphasized that the World Bank is ready to continue effective cooperation with the RA government in a number of directions, including improving the public administration system, infrastructure, export promotion, human capital development, sustainable environment and natural resource management. The head of the WB Yerevan office emphasized the progress of the changes implemented in Armenia and congratulated to the head of the government regarding the high rates of growth recorded.

Sylvie Bosutro particularly singled out the successful course of constitutional reforms and the completion of the process of transition to the parliamentary system of government, the signing of the RA-EU comprehensive and expanded partnership agreement, the high rates of economic growth recorded in the country and the trends of expanding the involvement of the Diaspora in various sectors of Armenia, noting that, according to the WB, they will also have a positive impact on the implementation of reforms in the country. 

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan emphasized the deepening and expansion of bilateral cooperation, welcomed the presented draft of the program and the proposals for reforms included in it. The CEO suggested continuing discussions with various government agencies on the draft project and thanked the WB for assisting in the implementation of reforms in the water resources management system. Karen Karapetyan noted that the government will continue reforms and steps towards optimization in that area.

“In the field of agriculture, we have started to implement a large set of programs, the purpose of which is to direct the farms to engage in more effective, modern and intensive agriculture. In this regard, it is important for the reforms in the field of water resources management to continue and for it to become a logical business, which will lead to an increase in efficiency, discipline, and cost reduction,” said the Prime Minister. 

During the meeting, a number of other issues related to bilateral cooperation were touched upon.

More than 10,000 people participated in the Russian presidential elections in Armenia. Veronika Artenyan, spokesperson of the Russian Embassy in Armenia, informed RIA Novosti about this.

He noted that a total of 10,419 voters participated in the elections in RA. According to the results, Vladimir Putin is in the leading position. About 5,000 people participated in the elections in Yerevan alone, Putin won 90.5% of votes. In Gyumri, 95% of the 1.3 thousand voters voted for the President of the Russian Federation. 

About a month ago, all Armenians celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the Karabakh movement. 1923 The people of Nagorno Karabakh, annexed to Azerbaijan by Stalin’s arbitrary decision, voiced to the world their will to live freely and safely in their historical homeland three decades ago. This was announced by RA NA Speaker Ara Babloyan at the session of the Political Affairs Committee of the Francophonie Parliamentary Assembly in Yerevan.

“Today, the Republic of Artsakh is a de facto established state, formed by a stable democratic state system and infrastructures, and a developing economy. However, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is still not resolved. We have repeatedly stated that it can be resolved only through peaceful negotiations, on the basis of fundamental human rights, as well as the people’s right to free self-determination. It is impossible to imagine Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, where Armenian hatred has become a state policy,” stressed the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament.

According to Babloyan, the fact that the Republic of Artsakh is not yet recognized should not be an obstacle for the realization of the rights of the people living there. The strengthening of human rights and their related values ​​is one of the priorities of Francophonie. Adhering to these and other values ​​of Francophonie, including peace, democracy, the Republic of Artsakh continuously takes steps to develop Francophonie in the territory of Artsakh. The visits of French-speaking parliamentarians representing different countries to Artsakh also contribute to this.

“With the support of the Francophone section of the Armenian National Assembly and with the active participation of the leadership of the Artsakh parliament, works are underway to establish a parliament of young francophones in Artsakh, which will also contribute to the spread of French, linguistic and cultural diversity,” he added.

When it was officially announced that the economic growth in Armenia was 7.5% in 2017, the most frequently asked question is the following: to what extent did the society feel the positive effect of that growth, to what extent did it affect the general well-being? This was announced by Shushan Sardaryan, a member of the RPA faction, at the time of announcements in the National Assembly, noting that yes, the government managed to achieve an unprecedented 7.5% growth over the last 10 years, when the world’s average economic growth rate was estimated at 3.1%. 

“Let’s agree that the higher the number of economic growth, the higher the expectations of the society. But, somehow focusing on the mechanical index of GDP growth, we are surprised that the society remains unconnected to it. Therefore, not only the indicator of economic growth, but also the general development should be targeted. In this regard, a new conceptual approach is dictated by President Serzh Sargsyan’s emphasis that economic growth should be inclusive and the results should be available to all sections of society and especially to the socially vulnerable sections. It means that the stable and balanced development of the economy should gradually lead to an increase in the result, under which every member of the society, first of all, with a low income threshold, will feel on his skin that growth has been recorded,” he noted.
 
Along with this, the MP continued, the private sector, especially the agriculture and light industry sectors, should be able to adequately solve the employment problem thanks to the investments, because these sectors create maximum jobs and are important from the point of view of inclusion.

Sardaryan raises the question: to what extent was the economic growth of the previous years inclusive, to what extent did it contribute to the growth of well-being?

“Perceptions are different, in one case there is a growth effect, in another case there is not. And in order not to rely on subjective evaluations, inclusiveness should be truly measurable. For five years now, the World Economic Forum has evaluated the inclusiveness of the economic growth of more than a hundred countries through the Inclusive Development Index, which, in addition to gross domestic product, takes into account 11 other indicators, from equal income distribution to life expectancy, public debt and a healthy living environment. 
In the organization’s latest report, developing Armenia ranked 45th among 77 countries, improving its inclusiveness index by 0.62 points in the last 5 years. Of course, this is not a big number to feel the impact, but it is important that there is a positive dynamic,” he said.

According to the RPA deputy, the positive economic developments of our country are also evidenced by the evaluations of international rating organizations. Moody’s, earlier also Fitch took into account the economic growth, financial system and fiscal reforms to improve Armenia’s rating, they also reviewed the economic growth forecasts for the coming years. “In today’s situation, the economic prerequisites can be said to be system-creating and contribute to the transformation of sustainable economic growth into inclusive economic development year after year,” added the deputy.