Category: 2020

 11:41, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. Since the initiation of the coronavirus-related state of emergency Armenian banks and credit organizations have provided loan repayment holidays to 472,000 individuals and 15,000 businesses, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told lawmakers in parliament during the presentation of the government action plan’s performance.

Pashinyan emphasized that the banks have done so independently.

He reminded that when the crisis began there was much talk about the potential possibility of the government obliging the banking system to grant the loan holidays. “But I have expressed my principled stance, that we can’t resort to such solutions through administrative decisions, because this would lead to a significant disruption of our financial system. And we, without any administrative lever, have always maintained contact with the central bank, which also ensured communication with commercial banks. And I am happy to note that as of May 5 the crediting organizations and banks have granted loan holidays to more than 472 thousand natural persons and 15 thousand legal persons,” Pashinyan said.

768,150 loans of individuals and 16,875 loans of businesses have been restructured, he added.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:11, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. Democratic stability is established in Armenia since May 2018, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in his remarks in the Parliament during the debate of the performance of the government’s 2019 action plan.

“The Republic of Armenia is a stable democratic state. You know that for many years authoritarian stability has been established in Armenia. And on the background of the authoritarian stability the democratic stability sometimes can leave an impression of instability. But I want to state that a democratic stability is established in the Republic of Armenia, people’s and democratic stability is established in the country, and nothing threatens the democratic stability of Armenia. I am honored to record that there is no political, criminal, mafia force in Armenia which will be able to undermine Armenia’s democratic stability or question the 2018 peaceful, people’s, Velvet Revolution”, the PM added.

Pashinyan said in all international democracy indices of 2019 Armenia recorded an impressive growth, moving from the backstage of the international democratic community to the forefront of the international democratic community.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 11:56, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. The government budget’s tax revenues in Q1 2020 have been over-performed by 8,9 billion drams, while a 20 billion over-performance was forecast if the coronavirus situation were not to happen, PM Nikol Pashinyan said in parliament.

“On March 13th, we fully entered a crisis phase with all its parameters, and despite this the 2020 first quarter tax revenues were over-performed by 8,9 billion drams,” Pashinyan said.

Editing and Translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:12, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has become a beacon of hope for democracy in Europe and Eurasia. Two years ago, the Armenian people took to the streets to demand a change of leadership — hungry to usher in democratic reforms and replace the kleptocratic practices that had held their country back for a generation. For 40 days, hundreds of thousands of Armenians conducted peaceful, organized protests throughout the country. In May 2018, this”Velvet Revolution” brought to power a new reform-minded government. 

USAID has seized this window of opportunity to support the vision of those demanding change by aiding the government and Armenian society in developing and implementing an ambitious reform agenda. 

Here are five ways USAID has fostered Armenia’s progress on its Journey to Self-Reliance

Photo Credit: Reuters / Gleb Garanich

Caption: Armenian youth gather in Republic Square in Yerevan during Armenia’s Velvet Revolution in April/May 2018. The peaceful campaign brought to power a new, reform-minded government.

Free and Fair Elections 

Just weeks after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took office, USAID brought international experts to Armenia to support the government’s top priority: conducting parliamentary elections.  

A heavy lift for a newly-formed government, USAID experts worked closely with Armenia’s Central Elections Commission to train 20,000 poll workers, educate voters, combat disinformation, and facilitate the first national election debate. As a result, just seven months after the new government was installed, they successfully conducted parliamentary elections that were widely deemed by international and domestic observer groups to be free and fair — a first in Armenia’s 28-year post-Soviet history. The elections strengthened the trust between the government and its people, a fundamental principle of democracy, upon which further reforms will be based.    

To ensure that future elections will be free and fair, USAID is supporting Armenia’s efforts to reform its electoral system — helping to amend its electoral code and strengthen its electoral institutions. Since 76 percent of the newly elected parliamentarians are serving for the first time, USAID is helping them build the skills they need to represent their constituents through hands-on training, including activities tailored to support female parliamentarians and a new internship program.  

Photo Credit: USAID/IFES 

Caption: CEC poll workers are trained by International Foundation for Electoral Systems through USAID’s Strengthening Electoral Processes and Political Accountability project in advance of snap parliamentary elections in 2018.

Transformational Reforms to Spark an Economic Revolution

The Armenian government has taken a deliberative, strategic approach to implementing reforms, and has made significant progress. It has developed a 30-year Transformation Strategy, which focuses on anti-corruption measures and judicial reform, while seeking to set the foundations for an “economic revolution.” USAID support will help ensure that these reforms improve the quality of life for ordinary Armenians.  Over the past year, USAID has worked hand in hand with the government in developing strategies to expand sectors of Armenia’s economy with high-growth potential, including tourism, high-tech and agriculture. These efforts will be bolstered by investments to develop renewable energy sources, fostering energy independence and fueling Armenia’s economy.

Photo Credit: From TIAC CPI Report 2019

Photo caption: Transparency International’s Anti-Corruption Center’s annual Corruption Perception Index shows Armenia’s improvement in combating corruption. 

Rooting Out Corruption

For the Armenian government to make good on its commitment to a new chapter in Armenia’s democracy, however, policy reforms alone are not enough. Eradicating corruption is also among the government’s highest priorities. This year, Armenia received its highest score ever in Transparency International’s Annual Corruption Perception Index, the fourth-highest score of 19 countries in Europe and Eurasia. Armenia registered the second highest gains globally in V-Dem’s liberal democracy index, a metric used by USAID to measure a country’s Commitment to its development in the Journey to Self-Reliance. 

USAID has been quick to support this progress, and to leverage Armenia’s expanding political will into an opportunity to achieve real impact in rooting out corruption. The new Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC), for example, is charged with combating corrupt practices and building integrity throughout the public sector. USAID will provide expertise to inform the CPC’s organizational and management structure; support the design and adoption of a new methodology to prevent corruption in government ministries; establish integrity checks of nominees for public office; and foster the development of an electronic open data system to publish, analyze, and enforce public officials’ declaration of assets. The intended overall impact of the CPC is to help rebuild trust between Armenian citizens and their government. 

Inspiring Citizens to Remain Engaged 

Across Armenia, USAID has also doubled down on efforts to empower citizens to remain engaged in the civic and political future of their communities. In November, 2019, USAID launched the “Let’s Do Something” campaign to sustain the momentum of citizen activism sparked by the Velvet Revolution by engaging citizens across Armenia’s 10 regions in community service projects. USAID also supports efforts to enhance the Armenian government’s ability to communicate progress on reforms to citizens — reinforcing new norms of more citizen-responsive and accountable governance. And since March 2020, USAID has provided support to the Government of Armenia to develop campaigns to share timely, critical information regarding COVID-19, which has further strengthened trust between the government and its citizens. 

Photo Credit: ASI/OTI 

Photo Caption: USAID/OTI’s Armenia Support Initiative’s “Let’s Do Something” campaign supported the Armenian city of Gyumri to host a holiday market in December 2019. Residents and city leadership supported the campaign, which is working to sustain the momentum of citizen engagement in Armenia.

Empowering Young People

Looking toward the future, engaging Armenia’s youth is also a top USAID priority. Armenia’s young people played a pivotal role in the Velvet Revolution, and their continued engagement in political and community life at the local and national level will help sustain political will for further reform. USAID’s Schools of Local Democracy provide an online learning platform to foster youth engagement. USAID also engages youth in citizen journalist activities to encourage their participation in responsible management of water in their communities. USAID Anti-Corruption Schools build young people’s awareness of corruption and involve them in anti-corruption efforts, with the goal of building a new generation of Armenians who will not tolerate corruption. 

What’s Next? 

While Armenians have demonstrated a strong commitment to democratic reforms, they recognize that significant challenges remain for building sustainable democratic institutions.  USAID will continue to support Armenia as it works to build and foster the democratic future its people want and deserve. 

Op-ed by Deborah Grieser

USAID Armenia Mission Director

Materials in the OPINIONS section express exclusively the author’s opinion and may not coincide with the viewpoint of the editorial.

 12:35, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. More than 1 million people in Armenia received direct assistance from the government as part of the measures for eliminating the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak, PM Nikol Pashinyan said in parliament.

He reminded lawmakers that the government enacted 16 different anti-crisis measures.

“As a result of these we have already managed to provide concrete assistance to over 21,000 businesses by providing privileged loans. And more than 1 million people received direct assistance from the government,” he said.

Pashinyan said the first purpose of the anti-crisis action was to avoid panic, and to ensure the healthcare system’s capacity for treating coronavirus patients. The number of infectious diseases hospital beds were increased from 300 to 1500, and an additional 150 beds will be commissioned soon.

600 beds at hotel/hospitals have been prepared for asymptomatic cases.

“More than half of our cases are people who carry the coronavirus but don’t have any symptoms. And our policy for them is to simply isolate them in order to prevent transmission. We have prepared 2300 hotel beds for isolating direct contacts. Over 6000 people were isolated during this period,” Pashinyan said, adding that the authorities also prioritized safeguarding the dignity of citizens involved.

He also emphasized the rapid stabilization of the financial market, noting that unlike many other countries Armenia did not suffer a market collapse and inflation was effective managed.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:17, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. Russia has confirmed 10,559 new COVID-19 cases over the past day, taking the case tally to 165,929 in all regions, TASS reports citing the anti-coronavirus crisis center.

Some 21,327 people have recovered and 1,537 others have died of the coronavirus.

According to the crisis center, the daily growth in cases stood at 6.8% against 7% on Tuesday. Some 4,314 new patients (40.9%) have not shown any symptoms of the disease.

 13:25, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reaffirms that any solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict cannot become a solution in practice if it is not acceptable for the peoples of Armenia and Artsakh.

During a Q&A session in the Parliament, the PM was asked to present his position on the statements of the Russian foreign minister and the Azerbaijani defense minister.

“No Armenian leader has expressed a position on the NK conflict in such details as I did. No Armenian leader has expressed a position on the NK conflict so frequently as I did. No Armenian leader has been so public and transparent over the NK issue as I have been. My positions, the positions of the Armenian government exist insofar as they are our positions. In other words, our position exists regardless of what any positons exist in the world. And it’s clear that there are numerous positions in the world regardless of our positions. And this whole settlement process is for us to try to respond to one question whether can make closer the positions and have a common position? And I have included 2 more important components in all of these which is a very famous negotiation format that any solution to the NK conflict cannot become a solution in practice if it is not acceptable for the peoples of Armenia, Karabakh, and also the National Assembly”, he said.

He said if in the past there have been leaderships which thought they would sign and give a solution, they have overestimated their powers.

According to the Armenian PM, the solution, which can be implemented theoretically, is the one which is acceptable for the peoples of Armenia, Artsakh and Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani defense minister Zakir Hasanov recently stated that the possibility of resumption of military operations has increased. In turn Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov talked about a document proposing a stage-by-stage solution to the NK conflict.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 12:42, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government managed to keep the socio-economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus within the manageability framework with the help of the Parliament, but it’s still early to say that the crisis is over, the coronavirus crisis will continue at least in the upcoming year, until May 2021, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in his remarks in the Parliament.

Talking about the utility payments, the PM said they have implemented 4 programs over the utility payments. The government compensated the utility bills of the citizens by nearly 5 billion drams with the assumption that people have debts, are unable to pay and need assistance. “Of course, this is true for a major segment, but as of today, nearly 2 billion drams out of these 5 billion AMD transfers went to the accounts as an advanced payment. It’s a proved statistics that in Armenia the subscribers from poor class are the most conscientious payers of utility bills. And according to our calculations, 800 million drams has been sent to the accounts of the people of this segment as a prepayment. According to our estimates, the 1.2 billion drams were sent to the accounts of the people who do not in fact need that”, the PM said.

“I have an honor to record that the government managed to keep the socio-economic crisis of the coronavirus within the manageability framework also with the help of the Parliament. But this doesn’t mean that the citizens of Armenia continue living in the same way as they did for instance in January or February. This means that fortunately we do not have a social collapse and crisis. But it will be wrong to think that the crisis is over or is passing, the crisis is just starting. And we record that during the upcoming year, until next May, we will still have a coronavirus crisis”, he said.

According to the latest data, the number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Armenia has reached 2,782, out of which 1,135 have already recovered. The active cases are 1,600. The death toll has reached 40.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global pandemic and named the virus COVID-19. 

According to the data of the World Health Organization, coronavirus cases have been confirmed in more than 210 countries and territories.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 14:12, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus held a phone call at the latter’s initiative, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Pashinyan presented to the WHO chief the coronavirus situation in Armenia and the measures taken in fighting the pandemic.

Nikol Pashinyan and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus exchanged ideas around the global situation due to the pandemic.

The Armenian PM highlighted the WHO’s activities in the current situation. The sides also discussed issues of cooperation between the Armenian government and WHO and touched upon the prospects of enhancing the partnership.

“Thank you for a very good call Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister Armenia, and for your leadership in the national COVID19 response. We discussed the situation in Armenia and WHO’s recommendations on easing the lockdown measures. Our experts stand ready to support Armenia in fighting COVID19,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 14:32, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. According to the latest data, the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Iran has increased by 1,680 bringing the total number of cases to 101,650, the Armenian Embassy in Iran said on Facebook.

78 more deaths have been registered in the past one day. The death toll has reached 6,418.

2,735 coronavirus infected patients are in serious condition.

The number of recovered people increased by 1,112 raising the total number of recoveries to 81,587.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan