Category: 2021

 12:52, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is ready to re-launch the full process of the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmanship format based on the well-known principles and elements, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with his Czech counterpart Jakub Kulhánek in Yerevan.

FM Mirzoyan highlighted his meetings with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group-mediated meeting with the Azerbaijani FM in New York.

“[the meetings] once again assert that the peaceful resolution, a political resolution of the conflict remains in the agenda. During my meetings in New York I reiterated the readiness of the Republic of Armenia to resume the full process of the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict in the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmanship format and based on the well-known principles and elements,” the Armenian FM said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:02, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has sent a congratulatory letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 72nd anniversary of the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China, the Armenian President’s Office said.

“I warmly congratulate you and the people of China on the 72nd anniversary of the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China. With your skilled leadership and vision to the future, China has decisively determined its place and role in the international arena and is confidently moving on a progressive path.

Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian-Chinese diplomatic relations. Armenia attaches great importance to the consistent and stable development of the partnership with China, in particular the promotion of cooperation within the Belt and Road important initiative.

Despite the challenges caused by the pandemic, I believe that we will demonstrate a decisive will for the implementation of joint programs and initiatives. I hope that our relations, which are based on the rich experience of the past and the ancient civilizational values, will continue to develop and expand for the benefit of our states and for the welfare of our nations”, reads the President’s letter.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 13:50, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. The government of Armenia has accepted 25% of shares of the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine as a donation from the shareholder.

According to the document on accepting the donation, the 25% shares of ZCMC were held by a joint-stock company called “Industrial Company”

 13:53, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan received today Ambassador of India to Armenia Kishan Dan Dewal, the ministry said.

The Ambassador congratulated the defense minister on assuming office, wishing success.

The Ambassador said that the Indian side is ready to further deepen the defense cooperation with Armenia, given the high-level relations between the two countries in political, cultural, economic and other areas.

The Armenian defense minister highlighted a number of directions of mutual interest within the frames of the cooperation with the Indian defense ministry, particularly the military-technical sector.

The sides reached an agreement to boost the activity of professional working groups aimed at increasing the efficiency of the Armenian-Indian military cooperation.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 14:15, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. The Czech Republic continues supporting the peace process to achieve the negotiated peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Czech foreign minister Jakub Kulhánek said during his joint press conference with Armenian foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan.

“During our meeting we exchanged views on the developments in the region. Of course, we discussed also the latest clashes in Nagorno Karabakh. I want to express my deep condolences to the families who have lost loved ones”, the minister said.

Taking into account the humanitarian consequences of the conflict, the Czech Republic considers providing psychological support to those affected by the clash, including the refugees, he said.

“The Czech Republic continues supporting the peace process to achieve the negotiated peaceful settlement. In this sense it’s worth noting that the Czech Republic supports the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. We welcome the recent meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs”, the Czech FM said.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 15:34, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian visited today the Embassy of China to congratulate on the 72nd anniversary of the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China, the President’s Office said.

The President congratulated Ambassador Fan Yong and the Embassy staff, as well as the whole Chinese people on the national day of China.

“I am here to express my respect and friendship to the people of China. Armenia highly values the relations with China”, President Armen Sarkissian said.

In turn the Chinese Ambassador thanked the President for the visit.

“We highly appreciate that you have come here to congratulate on our national day. This is one of the examples proving our friendship and shows that you attach importance to the efforts on building firm bilateral relations”, the Chinese Ambassador said.

During their talks the Armenian President and the Chinese Ambassador touched upon the agenda of the bilateral relations, talked about the cooperation deepening opportunities, as well as highlighted the intensification of contacts and ties between the two nations.

President Sarkissian said that China with its development path has shown that each country, each nation, based on its national characteristics, culture, heritage and traditions, must find its own path to development and try to achieve success with a hard and organized work.

“At this difficult stage for our country, it’s also important for us to find our own path to development and success, by using our advantages, for example, the potential of the Diaspora and the technology development opportunities”, the President said, adding that there is a big partnership potential with China in technology sector.

In this context Armen Sarkissian introduced the presidential initiative ATOM (Advanced Tomorrow), expecting cooperation also with the Chinese technological companies within the frames of this program. He said he would be glad to see more Chinese companies in the events being organized in Armenia, in particular at the upcoming Armenian Summit of Minds in the town of Dilijan.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 16:38, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikyan received today UK Ambassador to Armenia John Gallagher, the deputy PM’s Office said.

At the meeting the deputy PM said that the development of the relations with the United Kingdom is important for Armenia. He added that there are many opportunities in the bilateral relations which are not used yet, stressing the need for the formation of new agenda with joint efforts. Papikyan expressed the readiness of the government to develop the bilateral cooperation in political, economic, social, cultural and scientific-educational areas.

The UK Ambassador in his turn thanked for the reception and also congratulated Suren Papikyan on assuming office, wishing a productive work. Presenting the results of his meetings with different state and political circles of Armenia, the Ambassador said that the United Kingdom is interested in multilateral partnership.

The officials also discussed the bilateral partnership prospects in various areas, such as entrepreneurship, tourism, new technologies, fight against climate change, effective governance and development of civil society institutes. Deputy PM Papikyan assured that Armenia is committed to the policy of administration system reforms and development of democratic institutions and mechanisms.

During the talk the deputy prime minister specified the possible directions of the Armenian-British cooperation in economic sector. In particular, the necessity for restoring direct flights between Yerevan and London was emphasized.

Commenting on the post-war situation in Armenia, the deputy PM highlighted the necessity for multilateral efforts aimed at establishing peace and stability in the region. He appreciated the UK’s position that the OSCE Minsk Group is the platform for solving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, which will bring stable and lasting peace.

The security and socio-economic situation in Armenia’s Syunik province were also discussed.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 17:13, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Following the adoption of the Long-Term Strategy for the period of 2021-2030 earlier this year, the Board of Governors of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) at its extraordinary meeting today decided to increase the subscribed capital of BSTDB from the current EUR 2.29 billion to EUR 3.10 billion, the BSTDB said in a press release.

The new subscription follows the increase in the BSTDB authorized capital approved in 2007 and the first round of subscription decided in 2008 and completed in 2018. The subscription covers 70% of the available authorized but unsubscribed capital and leaves unsubscribed 10% of the total authorized BSTDB capital of EUR 3.45 billion, which will remain available, inter alia, for potential new shareholders. The paid-in portion of the newly subscribed capital will be 30%, with 70% callable – in line with the Bank’s current capital structure. As a result of the new subscription, the Bank will receive an additional capital of EUR 244.96 million, thus raising the paid-in capital held by the Bank to EUR 931.51 million. The subscribed capital increase will enable BSTDB to fulfill the strategic objectives set forth in the Long-Term Strategy for 2021-2030 to promote economic development and regional cooperation of Member States and strengthen the Bank’s response capacity in crisis situations while increasing its relevance to shareholders. The subscription process will be finalized by the end of September 2022, and the BSTDB shareholders will make the subscribed capital payments in eight installments during the period of 2023-2030.

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion. BSTDB is rated long-term “A-” by Standard and Poor’s, “A2” by Moody’s and “A+” by the Russian credit rating agency ACRA.

 17:18, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, 1 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 1 October, USD exchange rate up by 1.12 drams to 485.32 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.52 drams to 561.95 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 6.64 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 3.60 drams to 654.99 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 150.71 drams to 27193.6 drams. Silver price down by 11.68 drams to 335.86 drams. Platinum price down by 27.60 drams to 15026.07 drams.

 18:23, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan held a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

As ARMENPRESS was ifnormed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan congratulated Sergey Lavrov on the occasion of the State Duma elections.

The interlocutors discussed in detail issues related to the Armenian-Russian relations, as well as issues on the international and regional agenda. The importance of regular contacts at the high and top levels was emphasized.

The Armenian and Russian FMs referred to the results of the meeting between Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs in New York on September 23, as well as the meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs with the participation of the Co-chairs on September 24. Minister Mirzoyan reaffirms Armenia’s readiness to resume the full process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs based on the known principles and elements.

The foreign ministers of the two countries highlighted the implementation of the agreements reached on November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021. In the context of addressing humanitarian issues, Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the need for repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages held in Azerbaijan.

In the context of the coordination of steps in the foreign policy sphere, the parties discussed cooperation within the UN, OSCE, CIS and CSTO, particularly with the consideration of Armenia’s current chairmanship in the CSTO.