Category: 2021

 12:51,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan participated in the joint session of the CSTO foreign, defense ministers and secretaries of Security Council in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe, touching upon Armenia’s upcoming chairmanship at the CSTO and the country’s priorities.

In his speech Armen Grigoryan presented the ongoing developments in the Caucasian region, drawing the attention of the session participants on the latest developments in the Artsakh issue. He stated that Azerbaijan continues demonstrating an unconstructive approach and still refuses to return the Armenian prisoners of war and other persons held.

Commenting on the policy run by Azerbaijan, Armen Grigoryan said that policy is of an obvious provocative nature, in particular reminding the recent illegal incursion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into Armenia’s sovereign territories. He expressed hope that the condemnation of any encroachment against the sovereign territory of a country and the united position of the CSTO member states would have a sobering effect over the matter.

According to Armen Grigoryan, despite those challenges the Artsakh issue is waiting for its political solution, and in this context he highlighted the importance of resuming the peace process in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. Mr. Grigoryan hoped that the CSTO states will also support the efforts of the Co-Chairs.

As for Armenia’s upcoming chairmanship priorities in the CSTO, the Secretary of the Security Council said Armenia attaches importance to the continuation of works aimed at forming common approaches by the CSTO states over the agenda of regional and international importance, which, he added, would take into account the interests of the member states.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 14:35,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The USAID Armenia Integrity Project was officially launched today.

The purpose of the USAID-funded 5-year Armenia Integrity Project (AIP) is to reduce opportunities for corruption and reinforce public demand for improved governance and accountability in Armenia. 

Corruption Prevention Commission president Haykuhi Harutyunyan said at the event that shaping a governance system free of corruption where everyone is equal before the law is of key importance for them.

Harutyunyan said that Armenia is moving to a new phase, a more practical arena in fighting corruption.

The US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy and other officials were also in attendance. 

“We are encouraged by the government’s efforts to root out corruption using what is commonly referred to as “the three Ps of anti-corruption”— Prevention, Promotion, and Prosecution.  The Armenia Integrity Project, USAID’s signature anti-corruption initiative, will support the Corruption Prevention Commission and the Ministry of Justice, among other stakeholders, in implementing measures to strengthen integrity in the public sector,” US Ambassador to Armenia Tracy said.

“AIP’s main objective is to support Armenia’s efforts to create a culture that rejects corruption as a social norm.  We are assisting key national level institutions such as the Corruption Prevention Commission and Ministry of Justice, as well as municipal administrations at the marz level, to develop and implement corruption prevention measures.  Additionally, we are supporting civil society organizations, media and youth groups in their efforts to advocate for and promote integrity issues in Armenia,” Lawrence Held, Director of AIP, stated.   

Over the next five years, AIP will focus on three key objectives: strengthening corruption prevention institutions and integrity systems; supporting the implementation of specific legal-regulatory measures for corruption prevention; and facilitation of the collective citizen action approach to hold national and local level government entities engaged in corruption prevention mutually accountable.

 16:04,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan received today Ambassador of Japan to Armenia Fukushima Masanori, the finance ministry told Armenpress.

The minister introduced the government’s five-year action plan to the Ambassador and thanked the Japanese government for the support provided to Armenia in different areas, in particular the healthcare sector.

The officials emphasized the need for developing the commercial and cultural cooperation and discussed all preconditions existing for that. They highlighted the importance of boosting the economic and cultural ties between the Armenian and Japanese peoples.

The Japanese Ambassador assured that he is ready to take respective actions to expand the bilateral relations in different directions and to contribute to their further development and strengthening.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 16:50,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan met with Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on the sidelines of the joint session of the CSTO foreign, defense ministers and secretaries of the Security Council, Mr. Grigoryan’s Office told Armenpress.

Armen Grigoryan told his Russian counterpart that such frequency of bilateral meetings shows both countries’ interest in deepening the partnership between the two Security Councils, as well as developing the ties between Armenia and Russia in the security sector.

Thereafter, the officials discussed the current situation in the South Caucasus. In this context Armen Grigoryan introduced his Russian counterpart on the current situation caused by the recent illegal incursion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into Armenia’s sovereign territory, stating that any encroachment against the territory of Armenia is unacceptable. He added that Armenia is ready to start the border demarcation and delimitation process as soon as possible.

Talking about the possibility of establishing long-term peace in the region, Armen Grigoryan said the government of Armenia has announced “the era of peace” which would bring peace and development opportunity to the South Caucasian region, highlighting on this path the opportunity of unblocking all infrastructure.

Nikolai Patrushev also emphasized the importance of continuing the works on unblocking process, stating that it will enable to ensure stable peace in the region.

The talk specifically focused on the issue relating to the Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other persons held in Azerbaijan. Armen Grigoryan once again stated that according to the November 9, 2020 statement, all prisoners of war, hostages and other persons held must be returned to the homeland. Meanwhile, he said, the Azerbaijani side does not fulfill its commitment. Mr. Grigoryan expressed hope that the quick return of all Armenian POWs would become possible thanks to the efforts of the Russian side.

Touching upon the efforts on solving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the Russian Secretary of the Security Council highlighted activating the process within the Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 17:16,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. What are the key environmental and social issues that can be addressed by establishment of intensive orchards? How to establish them, and what are their advantages? What are the main environmental challenges that also affect agriculture? We seek the answers to these questions in Converse Bank, which offers a wide range of financing tools in the field of agriculture.

– Land degradation and desertification represent a serious environmental challenge in the world, including in Armenia. In 2021, scarcity of irrigation water was also added to the known challenges, which may eventually lead to a reduction in cultivated land areas.

– In this situation, what can farmers do or people who want to engage in agriculture?

– The globally acknowledged option is to shift to intensive agriculture, in this case – by establishment of intensive orchards. Unlike traditional tree species, dwarf trees are not very tall, do not have a deep root system, so they are irrigated with a drip irrigation network. Notably, in Israel, after the country implemented this system, it was possible to reduce the area of desertified or desert lands and achieve agricultural development.

– What are the advantages of this system?

– Installation of drip irrigation systems allows you to address several problems at once. First, according to various estimates, water consumption is reduced by up to 3 times, which also allows saving financial resources. On the other hand, it is possible to control the use of fertilizers and pesticides and make their supply more targeted, and weeds grow worse in dry soil. Finally, the use of drip irrigation system reduces water evaporation, surface runoff, prevents the penetration of water into the lower layers of the soil (water is supplied directly to the root system of the plant), which ensures up to 95% efficiency

– When do intensive orchards start to yield?

– Intensive orchards yield earlier than the traditional ones. If properly cultivated, it achieves self-sufficiency level in the third year after harvest. By the way, in this case, the installation of hail protection nets is also an important factor, due to which the crop loss due to unfavorable weather conditions is drastically less.

– Where to apply, if you want to establish an intensive orchard?

 

– Converse Bank offers various products targeted at agriculture financing, including the establishment of intensive orchards and drip irrigation networks, both with own resources and under various government programs. In addition, the interest rate on some loans is fully reimbursed by the state. Relevant products of the bank are available at .

The oversight of the bank is exercised by the Central Bank.

 17:44,

YEREVAN, 15 SEPTEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 15 September, USD exchange rate down by 3.19 drams to 487.00 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 3.38 drams to 575.78 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 6.71 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 6.22 drams to 673.33 drams.

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

Gold price down by 201.99 drams to 28069.83 drams. Silver price down by 2.11 drams to 369.51 drams. Platinum price down by 207.85 drams to 14890.2 drams.

 18:01,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The focus of September 21 events will be commemoration of the martyrs, ARMENPRESS reports Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said at the National Assembly, answering the question of MP Gegham Nazaryan about the Independence Day colorful events.

“I want to apologize to the people whose feelings I have somehow hurt by making such a statement. I said that our mood is not festive, but our Republic is 30 years old. The focus of the planned events will be the commemoration of the martyrs. The launch of a large-scale project to eternalize the memory of our brothers and sisters who lost their lives in the wars and during combat duties since independence from Artsakh and Armenia will be announced on September 21, over which we have been holding working consultations for nearly 6 months. The philosophy is the following – the martyrs fell so as to give life to Armenia’’, Nikol Pashinyan said.

 19:15,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will pay a working visit to the Republic of Tajikistan on September 15-17.

A ARMENPRESS was informed from the Prime Minister’s Office, Nikol Pashinyan will participate in the sitting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Dushanbe, as well as in the joint sitting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet with President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.

 19:37,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikyan, a meeting with the representatives of major grape purveying companies took place on September 15 for discussing the problems that emerged during the purveyance period. The meeting was attended by the representatives of Representatives of “Proshyan Brandy Factory”, “Vedi Alco”, “Vostan Wine Factory”, “Hayasy Group”, ”  “Artashat Vincon” , “Ijevan Wine Factory”, “MAP” companies. Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan also took part in the meeting.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of Deputy PM Suren Papikyan, the issue of grape procurement price was discussed during the meeting. The result of the meeting was that the companies participating in the meeting agreed to raise the minimum price from the existing 115 AMD to 130 AMD for technical varieties of grapes. Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikyan also informed that weighing scales and sugar meters were checked at the purveyance stations, noting that this issue will be in the center of the Government’s attention.

The Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed the strategic importance of the grape value chain, and offered the grape purveying companies to hold similar discussions regularly after completing the procurement season in order to provide systemic solutions to the existing problems in the sphere.

 19:50,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan announced at the National Assembly that the Armenian villages in Syunik Province have not been and will not be surrounded by the Azerbaijani, ARMENPRESS reports Pashinyan said answering the question of MP Anna Grigoryan from ‘’Armenia’’ bloc, who asked if there are any guarantees that Azerbaijan will bot bloc Goris-Kapan road, leaving the population in blockade.

‘’Yes, there are risks, but the Government of the Republic of Armenia is taking all necessary measures to control those risks’’, Pashinyan said.