Category: 2019

We have very major problems in our education system. The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, on Monday noted this during his meeting at the Silicon Valley with Armenians working there.

He noted that Armenia has not yet strategically and institutionally resolved its education problem.

“We need to make preschools in Armenia accessible to all children—and affordable,” he said, in particular. “We must [also] work on the quality of education.”

Pashinyan added that there is no shortage of problems in Armenia’s higher education system as well.

“Research-based education should be brought to [Armenia’s] institutions of higher education,” the Armenian PM noted, above all. “Now there are specific plans that will get a lot of resistance. For example, combining scientific research institutes with institutions of higher education, combining institutions of higher education with each other.”

There is no developed country in the world where there has been no mine. The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, on Monday stated this during his meeting at the Silicon Valley with Armenians working there, and in connection with one of these Armenians’ remark that Armenia is exactly the size of Silicon Valley, and therefore the country does not need mines.

He added that if we look at the matter in this way, any manifestation of civilization is anti-environmental. “This building is anti-ecological because there were happy times that trees were here, sheep were grazing,” he explained, in particular.

Pashinyan stated, however, that he does not like mining at all.

“If that mine can be operated within the framework of the obligations declared by the operating company—that is, 100% safe, then it will be operated,” Pashinyan said with respect to whether the Amulsar gold mine of Armenia should be operated. “If not, it won’t be operated.”

He noted that the Nairit synthetic rubber plant and the nuclear power plant of Armenia had been shut down based on the same arguments that have been brought against the operation of the Amulsar mine.

“As a result, all of our [Armenia’s] scientific potential faced collapse,” Nikol Pashinyan added. “We now have gone into the world, seeking an investor in our science.”

In 2016, the American-British Lydian Armenia company began construction of the Amulsar gold mine, and announced it will invest more than $400 million in this project.

Environmentalists and activists, however, have kept the roads to Amulsar closed for a long time. They oppose Amulsar’s operation, and argue that the exploitation of this gold mine will have a disastrous impact on the environment.

In the current year, the Armenian government petitioned to the ELARD consulting firm of Lebanon for an expert conclusion on Amulsar. The government announced that it will make a final decision on Amulsar’s operation only after receiving this conclusion.

Subsequently, the ELARD expert conclusion stated that the environmental risks will be manageable if proper monitoring is carried out at Amulsar.

But following a recent videoconference with ELARD experts, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that several new circumstances had emerged during this videoconference, and which need to be investigated and assessed.

And he instructed the Ministry of Environment to decide whether the Amulsar gold mine project needs to undergo a new Environmental Impact Assessment.

But recently, Pashinyan stated that, at the moment, they had no legal grounds for banning the operation of the Amulsar mine.

YEREVAN. – The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov, on Monday met in New York, with participation of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov (Russia), Stéphane Visconti (France) and Andrew Schofer (US), as well as Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO).

The interlocutors discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and assessed the current situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS. The Armenian FM lauded the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO.

During the discussion, the Armenian side highlighted the continued efforts—including through the introduction and strengthening of appropriate mechanisms—to strengthen the ceasefire and reduce tensions. The need for consistent steps—including through the implementation of previously achieved agreements—to create a climate of trust was also stressed.

With regard to the Armenian citizens who are in custody in Azerbaijan, the Armenian side emphasized the need for ensuring their return.

From the viewpoint of promoting the peace process, FM Mnatsakanyan attached importance to ensuring the proportionality of the commitments which the parties will assume within the framework of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and reaffirmed Armenia’s principled position and approaches in this process.

The parties outlined the future steps in this direction, including the Co-Chairs’ visit to the region and the holding of a regular meeting at the level of the two FMs.