Category: News

Armenia’s newly appointed Prime Minister has said his program will consist of two stages, and does not promise rapid changes in the first one.

“As for the second stage, we need time to decide which direction we’re chosing for our country,” Karen Karapetyan said at his first Q&A session at the National Assembly.

He advised not to expect rapid changes in the economy but added that “there will be signals on the direction of future development of economy.”

The Prime Minister said the program of the previous government will be used and added that “creation of favorable conditions for those who create added value will be a priority.”

Referring to the formation of the Cabinet of Ministers, he said the emphasis will be put on maximal professionalism irrespective of party affiliation.

A delegation of the distance learning group from the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, led by the coordinator of the information management system of the “Partnership for Peace” program and the “GlobalNet” program, Davit Ghazaryan, participated in the NATO distance learning forum, taking place at the modelling and simulation center in Suffolk, Virginia.

During the forum, the working group from the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia presented its achievements in distance learning. The distance learning program designed for servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia took firm place in the presentation-competition that took place during the forum. Among the 11 participants in the competition were, NATO member states, the US, Finland, Turkey, as well as NATO institutions such as the NATO school, the NATO Defense College, etc.

Currently, the working group of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia is cooperating with the “Partnership for Peace” consortium of the NATO reform command. Aid for the distance learning program is obtained from OSCE Yerevan.

The distance learning program that took first place is already being implemented in the education and academic programs of the staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia.

“Yesterday’s signature of the new political agreement on electoral reform in the Republic of Armenia between the Government coalition and opposition parties, and consulted with civil society representatives, is a positive development supporting the implementation of electoral reform in the country,” Maja Kocijancic, Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairsand Security Policy, said in a statement.

“The European Union’s financial assistance, together with that of other international partners and the engagement of the Government, will enable the implementation of the technical aspects defined by the new Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia,” she added.

“The electoral stakeholders in Armenia should now fully implement the new electoral legislation in good faith in order to increase credibility, transparency and public trust in the new electoral system and procedures in line with international standards,” the statement reads.

On September 13 Tigran Mkrtchyan, Armenia’s Ambassador to Lithuania, had a meeting with the members of Armenia friendship group in Lithuania’s Seimas.

Greeting the Ambassador, Dangutė Mikutienė, the head of the friendship expressed confidence that the previously formed friendly relations will have continuation.

The Ambassador noted that necessary steps will be undertaken aimed at further deepening of Lithuania-Armenia political dialogue, activation of mutual visits, ensuring of the continuous increase of trade volumes, organization of cultural events.

The Ambassador presented the main directions of his mission, in particular underlining the importance of economic and cultural diplomacy.

Ambassador Mkrtchyan thoroughly talked about the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy, the efforts exerted by Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in the peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn has welcomed the signature of new political agreement on electoral reforms between Armenian government and opposition, consulted with the Civil Society.

“EU stands ready to assist, also financially, the implementation of this important agreement,” Commissioner Hahn said in a Twitter post.

The Football Federation of Armenia has announced its support for Alexander Čeferin in teh upcoming elections of UEFA President.

“Appreciating the importance of Alexander Čeferin’s program for the development of football, Football Federation of Armenia announces its support for Alexander Čeferin’s candidacy in the upcoming UEFA presidential elections and in implementation of his action plan provisions in case of his election as the UEFA president,” the Federation said in a statement.

On 13 September Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received personal representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, NKR President’s Press Office reports.

The meeting addressed a number of issues related to the situation along the line of contact between the Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan armed forces.

President Serzh Sargsyan has signed a decree today, appointing Karen Karapetyan as Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.

Karen Karapetyan, 53, graduated from Yerevan State University, department of applied mathematics in 1980 and holds PhD in economics.

From 2001 to 2010, he held the position of Director General of ArmRosgazprom joint enterprise, which subsequently became a subsidiary of Gazprom, Russian gas giant.

In 2011, Karapetyan became a Vice President of Gazprombank and, in conjunction, from 2012 he held the position of Deputy Director General of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz.

Since 2015, Karen Karapetyan has been Deputy Director General for International Projects of Gazprom Energoholding LLC.

On September 13, political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway took place at the MFA of Armenia in Yerevan.

The consultations were chaired by Mr. Gagik Ghalachyan, Head of the European Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, and Mrs. Hilde Svartdal Lunde, Deputy Director General of Department of Security Policy and High North, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway.

During the consultations the Armenian and Norwegian delegations discussed issues of bilateral agenda. The sides stressed the importance of furthering the political dialogue, strengthening the inter-parliamentary relations, as well as discussed the steps aimed at the development of economic and trade ties between the two countries. They also referred to the cooperation within international organizations.

On the same day the Norwegian delegation had a meeting with Mr. Garen Nazarian, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia. During the meeting the sides touched upon the urgent issues of regional and international agenda, exchanged views on the prospects of Armenia-EU cooperation. In the course of consultations, the sides touched upon the process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

Armenia has much to offer to U.S. students interested in studying abroad, attendees of a two-day workshop held by American Councils heard on Tuesday.  During the workshop, made possible by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of State’s recently-established U.S. Study Abroad office, speakers from American Councils and the U.S. Embassy emphasized that Armenia has the potential to attract greater numbers of U.S. students, and discussed with representatives of Armenian higher education institutions ways of expanding their marketing to the American audience.  U.S. students are increasingly looking for non-traditional destinations that offer unique experiences for short-term study related to their fields of interest, and Armenian higher education institutions have much to offer in these fields.

“The U.S. places great importance on study abroad programs and encourages American students to explore these opportunities for many reasons, said Public Affairs Officer Jacqueline Deley.  “First and foremost, study abroad promotes mutual understanding between people of different countries and the U.S. Americans studying abroad forge strong, life-long friendships with citizens and other foreign students in their host countries, and can appreciate the histories and cultures of other countries in ways that cannot be learned in books.  At the same time, by sharing American culture and values with host country friends and contacts, these students can be enormously effective citizen diplomats.  The U.S. and Armenia have been friends and partners for many years, and we believe that increased flows of exchange students between our two countries will strengthen our bilateral relationship even further. We hope that more American students will take advantage of study abroad opportunities in Armenia, to serve as ambassadors of goodwill, and to contribute to the mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples and experience the many delights this country has to offer.”

The two-day workshop included sessions on U.S. study abroad trends, the value-added of academic exchanges, lessons learned from past U.S. student programs, and tips for communicating with U.S. audiences.  In the audience were higher education professionals from public and private institutions in Armenia and representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science.

The mission of the State Department’s U.S. Study Abroad Branch is to not only increase the number of Americans studying overseas, but also to promote diversity of students, fields of study, locations of study, and types of higher education institutions.