Category: News

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Armenian Armed Forces, President Serzh Sargsyan, accompanied by His Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, President of the NKR Bako Sahakian, and the highest leadership of the Republic, visited today the Yerablur Military Pantheon and paid tribute to the memory of the sons of the Armenian nation who gave their lives for independence of our Fatherland.

On January 27 in Vienna, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, had a meeting with Sebastian Kurz, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting a number of issues of the Armenian-Austrian cooperation were discussed.

The Ministers noted, that it is symbolic that their meeting takes place on the days, when Armenia and Austria mark the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations, and expressed satisfaction over the dynamic development of bilateral cooperation in different fields.

The interlocutors touched upon the issues concerning the different dimensions of the OSCE activity.

Edward Nalbandian and Sebastian Kurz praised the activity of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

Foreign Minister of Armenia and the OSCE CiO exchanged views on the importance of the implementation of agreements reached at Summits on Nagorno-Karabakh, held in Vienna and St. Petersburg.

 

 

 

“Part of the armament to be supplied under the $200 mln loan agreement with Russia has already been shipped to Armenia and put into operation,” Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan told a press conference today.

According to him, the shipment of the rest of the armament proceeds according to the schedule. “We’re committed to receiving the equipment as soon as possible, as it is directly related to the combat readiness of the army,” the Minister said.

“We search for opportunities both on the Russian market and those of other partner countries to replenish the Armed Forces with equipment necessary,” Minister Sargsyan said.

“Although we have an efficient army, we have to look into the future, and develop faster than events,” he said.

The Karabakh conflict settlement is one of the priorities of the Russian foreign policy, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a briefing today.

Commenting on the results of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s meetings with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts earlier this month, Zakharova said “the negotiations were constructive” and added that “concrete ideas on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict were discussed.”

She said new meetings will be held in the future, but the timetable has not yet been finalized.

Photo: Reuters

 

In its decision of 26 January 2017, the Constitutional Council censured various provisions of the Equality and Citizenship Act, which the National Assembly had finally adopted on 22 December 2016, on a proposal from the Government, Nouvelles d’Armenie reports.

The Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) has said “the Constitutional Council has the moral and political responsibility for exposing many French citizens, and especially those of Armenian origin, to the aggression with complete impunity of Turkey’s state denial.”

The CCAF will never accept such a submission and will continue to denounce and combat negationism which has no connection with any historical debate but instead participates in the elaboration and justification of the crime of genocide, the supreme stage of racism.

The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire about 20 times at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night, the NKR Defense Ministry reports.

The rival used firearms of different calibers as it fired over 50 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep control of the operational-tactical situation at the frontline and confidently continue with their military duty, the Ministry said.

On January 24, Armenia’s Ambassador to the US Grigor Hovhannnisyan received Ambassador Richard Hoagland, the newly appointed US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group for Nagorno Karabakh.

Mr. Hoagland will be joining the Russian and French co-chairs of the Minsk Group over the next five month period.

“Ambassador Hoagland is a senior diplomat who brings into the Minsk process years of experience and in-depth knowledge of the CIS and Central Asian regions,” the Armenian Embassy said in a Facebook post.

Armenian prime minister Karen Karapetyan wants his government to create an environment that welcomes creative and entrepreneurial minds. But, as he tells , he is also determined to ensure that the country’s population is on board with whatever changes lie ahead.

Q: What are the immediate priorities that you want to address as prime minister?

A: Frankly, the work of the prime minister assumes that everything is a priority. Economic growth, social issues, healthcare and the fight against corruption: one could not say that this area is a priority and the other one is secondary. Perhaps the difference between the actions and the job of the prime minister and a businessman is that you do not have the luxury of prioritising and focusing only on the most important issues. Here’s what I think is our first major task – we need to establish contact with society so that our nation understands, believes and responds to the signals that we send. This relates to the businesses and larger public. It will be much easier for us to improve the situation, when our nation is our ally and supports the programmes that we propose.

Q: What economic initiatives or plans do you have? 

A: We have already presented a government programme where we have outlined what we are going to do. There are a few major topics I want to highlight. Number one, we need to create a truly free, competitive and fair business environment. We are confident that our nation’s potential for creativeness and business acumen would allow our businesses to grow really fast in such an environment. In addition, if we send clear signals, then foreign investors would respond to that as well and would enter our market if they are comfortable with the rules of the game.

Second, considering our current economic condition, we will stimulate the businesses, perhaps not in a very conventional way for the government. We are going to create funds that will be providing financing to different sectors, for example, the agriculture sector, IT, SMEs and so on.

Third, we will create a centre for strategic initiatives, where, with the involvement of talented private and public sector representatives, we will be discussing and developing long-term strategies, programmes and reforms and, ultimately, deciding in which direction Armenia will be moving.

To summarise, we will create the most favourable and comfortable conditions for creative and hard-working individuals and we will demonstrate to them the horizons of our future, so that everyone engages in building that future. We want to show everyone the country of our dreams.

Q: Where does FDI fit into your economic plans and are you planning any privatisations of any industries?

A: FDI is extremely important to us, not only because it will affect economic growth and bring in more investments, but also because it will bring in a new management culture, and demonstrate the openness of our country, which will certainly have a positive multiplying effect on other areas of our life, such as tourism.

When it comes to privatisation, I think Armenia is one of the most liberal countries among the post-Soviet countries. There is really very little state property. However, I am confident that private management is always better than public. It reduces corruption risks, increases efficiency, etc. Therefore, our intention is to transfer everything that has business logic, except for very specific areas such as security and defence, either through privatisation or submission for management.

I think our IT/hi-tech industry is very interesting and attractive – it has fantastic potential and opportunities. Our agriculture, jewellery, mining, light industry, energy and tourism sectors also have big potential of attracting foreign investment.

Q: The geopolitics of the region are tricky. How are you dealing with this delicate situation and how can you increase economic integration despite this? 

A: When it comes to our foreign policy, we will definitely send a signal, through our actions and policies, that we are very honest and frank with our partners. We are not going to be co-operating with one country to the detriment of other countries. The size of our country and our neighbouring countries brings us to the idea that we really need to focus on stimulating regional co-operation. From that perspective, I think that regional co-operation will open new opportunities for our businesses.

We also need to convince everyone that we are a very tolerant nation, though everyone knows us as a party to a conflict [a border dispute with Azerbaijan]. I think our lifestyle is proof of that, since about three-quarters of our nation is living abroad and serve as law-abiding citizens of other countries. We have suffered enough from wars to be very sensitive about the value of peace and we are very concerned about our security.

Q: What would you like foreign citizens and companies to know about Armenia that they might not already know? 

A: We know the value of peace and we are very thankful to our friends.

We are one of the few oldest nations having a statehood. Yerevan is 50 years older than Rome. An area very close to Yerevan, Shengavit, is 6000 years old – a civilisation that is 1000 years older than Egypt pyramids. We are the first Christian nation and we were one of the first nations to start typography. We say to [businesspeople and tourists] to come to Armenia, be our guest and become our friend.

Manchester United set up an EFL Cup final against Southampton despite their 17-match unbeaten run ending with defeat at Hull City in the semi-final second leg on Thursday, the BBC reports.

Jose Mourinho’s side led 2-0 from the first leg but, making five changes, they struggled to impose themselves at the KCOM Stadium.

Tom Huddlestone put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot after four players had tangled in the area after a set-piece, Marcos Rojo’s pull on Harry Maguire’s shirt the most visible offence.

It gave Hull, 19th in the Premier League, poise and confidence, but their hopes of just a second domestic cup final in their 113-year history were dashed when Paul Pogba poked through the legs of Maguire and into the bottom corner from 10 yards.

Rojo headed against the bar for United and the Tigers’ Oumar Niasse also struck the woodwork before he turned in David Meyler’s cross to set up a tense finale.

But the visitors held on and former Chelsea boss Mourinho could move level with Brian Clough and Sir Alex Ferguson on four League Cup wins at Wembley on 26 February.

UN Secretary General António Guterres has issued a message on the International Day of Commemoration in memory օf the victims օf the Holocaust.

Today, we honour the victims of the Holocaust, an incomparable tragedy in human history.

The world has a duty to remember that the Holocaust was a systematic attempt to eliminate the Jewish people and so many others.

It would be a dangerous error to think of the Holocaust as simply the result of the insanity of a group of criminal Nazis.  On the contrary, the Holocaust was the culmination of millennia of hatred, scapegoating and discrimination targeting the Jews, what we now call anti-Semitism.

Tragically, and contrary to our resolve, anti-Semitism continues to thrive.  We are also seeing a deeply troubling rise in extremism, xenophobia, racism and anti-Muslim hatred.  Irrationality and intolerance are back.

This is in complete contrast to the universal values enshrined in the United Nations Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We can never remain silent or indifferent when human beings are suffering.

We must always defend the vulnerable and bring tormentors to justice.

And as the theme of this year’s observance highlights, a better future depends on education.

After the horrors of the 20th century, there should be no room for intolerance in the 21st.  I guarantee you that as Secretary-General of the United Nations, I will be in the frontline of the battle against anti-Semitism and all other forms of hatred.

Let us build a future of dignity and equality for all – and thus honour the victims of the Holocaust who we will never allow to be forgotten.