Category: News

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has addressed the Mining Armenia Forum 2026 in Tsaghkadzor. “From the very first day, representatives of the Government and other state bodies have participated in this forum in various formats.

The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the annual event, stressing the significant role of mining in Armenia’s economy.

I am rushing through the winding corridors of my hotel in downtown Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, when I spot a toddler hopping past holding her mother’s hand. Her youthful energy makes me smile, even before I realize we are searching for the same room — and that I am about to hear her story.

I later learn that this little girl’s name is Sophie and that her life is a miracle, in more ways than one. That’s because she was born the day that her homeland, Nagorno-Karabakh (also called Artsakh by Armenians), came under attack in 2023. As the sound of shells and drones surrounded the local maternity hospital, doctors raced to perform cesarean sections on pregnant women like Sophie’s mother. They didn’t have time for a normal delivery.

“At 4:25 sharp, my daughter was born and, with her cry, all the (outside) noises became useless,” Sophie’s mother, Vehanush Hovsepyan, says through a translator. “I realized I became a mother … what mattered (is that) I had a healthy baby that was there.”

Vehanush is speaking to a group of us visiting Armenia in mid-September with the nonprofit advocacy group Save Armenia. As part of our trip, we are hearing the stories of Christian refugees forced to flee the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023.

We have already learned about Nagorno-Karabakh, and how an estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians were displaced from the region, now under the control of Azerbaijan. They left after enduring a nine-month blockade that led to starvation and a lack of basic necessities and medical supplies. They left after Azerbaijan launched a military offensive on Sept. 19, 2023, Sophie’s birthday.

Sophie’s mother, Vehanush, and one of the doctors at the maternity hospital where Sophie was born, Dr. Eduard Kagramanyan, tell us about that day.

Vehanush, a journalist born and raised in Nagorno-Karabakh, says that the nine months of her pregnancy with Sophie coincided with the nine months of the blockade. She holds Sophie in her lap while telling us that she and other expectant women walked to their medical appointments, because they had no gasoline. They could prepare for their babies’ births only so much, because the shops were empty. Vehanush also worried that, when the time came to give birth, doctors would no longer have adequate medical supplies.

The morning of Sophie’s birthday, Vehanush went to the maternity hospital to give birth. The day seemed like a normal one until, all of a sudden, chaos erupted from the corridor. Everyone began talking all at once. Fifteen minutes later, Vehanush heard the shelling begin. Those at the hospital were personally impacted: Doctors and staff worried for their husbands on the front lines and their children in school.

“Despite that, all of them stayed there and started consoling (the pregnant women), saying that, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll take you downstairs to the cellar, and that’s where you will be giving birth,’” Vehanush says.

Doctors like Dr. Eduard helped women into the basement and even carried some of them on stretchers. But that’s not where Vehanush ended up giving birth.

As Vehanush speaks, Sophie, with her dark eyes full of wonder and hair dotted with two pink bows, begins to grow restless. Dr. Eduard is sitting next to her and smiles. He draws little pictures to cheer her up as her mother speaks. My group sees firsthand that his care for her didn’t end on her birthday.

Vehanush tells us she still thanks God every day for doctors like Dr. Eduard. She returns to her story. Before giving birth to Sophie, she had to go back upstairs where doctors could perform a cesarean section. They had learned that the hospital could become a target, and the doctors wanted to deliver Sophie as quickly as possible. The surgery took 20 minutes.

Sophie is here because others risked their lives for her.

Dr. Eduard, a gynecologist, describes Sept. 19 as a 24-hour nonstop attack. He had already survived previous wars and knew of their destruction. Still, during the 2023 attack, doctors prepared to stay at the maternity hospital even if it meant being killed.

“All of our staff, the top doctors in the administration, decided that we’re not going to move out,” Dr. Eduard says through a translator. “That we’re going to stay and receive patients and complete our duties, even if we have to face the Azerbaijanis in front of our maternity hospital … we’re doctors, we’re there to save life.”

Since my trip to Armenia, I’ve thought of Dr. Eduard’s selflessness, Vehanush’s bravery, and Sophie’s vibrant energy. I’ve thought of their gratitude and faith through it all. I’ve thought of the value they place on human life, including the lives of babies like Sophie.

And, when I look at their stories in the context of Armenia, the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion, their courage strikes me with a familiar beauty. Their lives embody a Christlike love that we’re each called to live out in our own, unique way. Many of us will never have to worry about our lives because of war or face starvation. But each of us can do something to sacrifice for the sake of new life, joy and hope.

Katie Yoder writes for OSV News from Maryland.

https://www.osvnews.com/the-courage-to-risk-death-for-life/

Disputed prices for conference gifts, advertising contracts and venue arrangements have fuelled scrutiny of Armenia’s COP17 preparations, with officials promising a full financial account after the summit.

Armenia’s government has defended its spending on preparations for the upcoming UN biodiversity summit, COP17, as opposition lawmakers question procurement costs, contract awards and the transparency of public expenditure.

Deputy Environment Minister Ara Mkrtchyan said funds allocated for the conference had been used for their intended purposes, prudently and with proper justification. He also assured that all assets purchased for the event would remain the property of the Republic of Armenia and be available for future use.

Speaking to state news agency Armenpress, Mkrtchyan addressed mounting criticism over the financial and logistical arrangements for the summit, scheduled to take place in Yerevan from October 19 to 30. The Environment Ministry published his remarks on Thursday.

The controversy intensified after lawmakers from the opposition Strong Armenia parliamentary faction raised allegations of inflated procurement prices, questionable contract awards and insufficient disclosure of public spending.

Opposition lawmaker Lianna Manukyan told parliament on October 12 that the government had spent approximately 290 million Armenian drams on branded conference gifts, claiming that comparable products could have been purchased at considerably lower prices.

Based on her preliminary market assessment, Manukyan estimated that the government could have saved nearly 85 million drams.

She alleged that 19,700 conference badge lanyards had been purchased for 1,248 drams each, although her market research suggested comparable products were available for as little as 55 drams. She also questioned the purchase of 16,500 thermoses at 7,800 drams each and branded environmentally friendly bags at 3,432 drams per unit.

However, the comparisons were based on the lawmaker’s research, and it remains unclear whether the products she examined had specifications, branding requirements and associated services equivalent to those in the government contracts.

Manukyan also questioned a contract that reportedly allocated nearly 25,000 drams for each of 400 packaging items, alongside a separate provision of 19 million drams for unforeseen expenses.

She argued that the contracted prices should already account for logistics, labour and other associated costs, and called for a clearer explanation of the additional expenditure.

Another opposition lawmaker, Lena Matevosyan, questioned three advertising contracts worth a combined 452 million drams, alleging that they had been awarded to the same company without a competitive tender.

She claimed the contracts contained overlapping responsibilities and similar staffing arrangements, raising questions about whether the services could have been delivered under a single agreement at a lower cost.

According to Matevosyan, the contracts were awarded to Doping Space, a company also reportedly engaged to provide other conference-related services.

Fellow opposition lawmaker Hasmik Yengoyan alleged that Doping Space had secured at least 10 contracts covering services ranging from advertising and furniture supply to communications, camera installation and transportation.

She questioned the company’s selection across several service categories and demanded greater transparency over the criteria used to award the contracts.

Yengoyan also raised concerns about financing arrangements involving Meridian Holding, saying funding linked to the company for conference preparations approached 11 billion drams.

She maintained that the publicly available documents did not provide a sufficiently detailed breakdown of expenditure to assess the costs.

The opposition faction said it would seek full procurement agreements and supporting documents from the Environment Ministry.

The allegations have not been independently established, and the disputed figures represent different categories of expenditure that should not be added together.

Responding to the criticism, Armenia’s Environment Ministry said in a statement published on October 13 that the government had initially earmarked 18.5 billion drams from its 2026 state budget reserve fund for COP17 organisational services.

The ministry maintained that procurement arrangements were governed by the technical, logistical and security requirements established for major UN conferences.

It acknowledged that a government decision adopted in August 2025 permitted single-source procurement for specialised conference services but said a public prequalification process had nevertheless been organised to ensure transparency and competition.

According to the ministry, 12 organisations initially applied, including two foreign companies. Ten met the eligibility requirements, and their applications were forwarded to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity for further evaluation.

Mkrtchyan said UN experts subsequently assessed the eligible applicants and selected two organisations to provide services for the conference’s Blue and Green Zones.

He rejected suggestions that the principal conference organisers had been selected without an assessment process, maintaining that the procedures complied with applicable regulations and international requirements.

However, the government’s explanation of the selection process did not establish whether the individual contracts questioned by opposition lawmakers, including those for advertising and equipment, had undergone separate competitive tendering.

Addressing allegations of inflated prices, Mkrtchyan argued that comparisons with ordinary retail prices failed to account for the scale, complexity and tight deadlines involved in organising a major international conference.

He said procurement costs reflected not only the price of goods but also transportation, installation, staffing, maintenance and other services required to meet UN standards.

The deputy minister also defended the arrangements involving the privately owned Meridian Expo Centre, explaining that the government had rented the venue for the whole of 2026 rather than directly undertaking reconstruction or renovation works.

Under the agreement, Armenia secured the right to use the venue for an additional 400 days over the eight years following COP17, allowing the infrastructure to support future activities.

Mkrtchyan clarified that equipment and other assets purchased for the conference would remain government property, while the Meridian Expo Centre itself would remain privately owned.

He said it was too early to establish the final cost of hosting the summit because preparations and related expenditure were continuing. A comprehensive financial account would be presented later.

Despite the controversy, Mkrtchyan expressed hope that hosting COP17 would help Armenia address domestic environmental challenges, strengthen its international standing and generate lasting economic and diplomatic benefits.

He also anticipated that spending by international visitors would support local businesses and generate tax revenue.

Armenia’s National Assembly ratified the agreement covering the organisation of COP17 on October 12, with 68 lawmakers voting in favour, 18 against and three abstaining.

Opposition lawmakers stressed that they supported Armenia’s hosting of major international conferences but opposed what they described as unjustified expenditure and insufficient transparency in the use of public resources.

Although the government maintains that procurement procedures complied with applicable regulations and UN requirements, questions remain over individual contract prices and the availability of detailed expenditure records.

Opposition lawmakers have sought greater disclosure of procurement agreements, while officials say a comprehensive financial account will be presented after the conference.

Scheduled for October 19 to 30 in Yerevan, COP17 will bring together governments, international organisations, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and civil society representatives to assess progress towards global biodiversity targets.

The conference will conduct the first global review of collective progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which seeks to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.