Category: News

The Archaeological Site of Ani has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

This site is located on a secluded plateau of northeast Turkey overlooking a ravine that forms a natural border with Armenia. This medieval city combines residential, religious and military structures, characteristic of a medieval urbanism built up over the centuries by Christian and then Muslim dynasties.

The city flourished in the 10^th and 11^th centuries CE when it became the capital of the medieval Armenian kingdom of the Bagratides and profited from control of one branch of the Silk Road. Later, under Byzantine, Seljuk, and Georgian sovereignty, it maintained its status as an important crossroads for merchant caravans.

The Mongol invasion and a devastating earthquake in 1319 marked the beginning of the city’s decline. The site presents a comprehensive overview of the evolution of medieval architecture through examples of almost all the different architectural innovations of the region between the 7^th and 13^thcenturies CE.

On 15 July Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received the delegation of the Yerevan city administration at the head of its mayor Taron Margaryan.

Issues related to the cooperation between Yerevan and the NKR capital and regions were discussed during the meeting.

The Head of the State rated high firm ties with the Armenian capital underlining that various programs have been successfully implemented in Artsakh within the frameworks of this cooperation.

Vice-premier Arthur Aghabekyan, mayor of Stepanakert Souren Grigoryan and other officials partook at the meeting.

Members of Washington, DC’s diplomatic, international finance, government, and public policy communities joined Armenian American leaders at an Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) roundtable talk – led by the Development Foundation of Armenia’s (DFA) Garen Mikirditsian – exploring strategies to expand U.S.-Armenia trade and investment and grow Armenia’s economy.

The two hour program was held in the ANCA’s Aramian Conference Room.

“We were pleased to provide this opportunity for Garen Mikirditsian to share his compelling vision for Armenia’s economic growth, to openly address concerns raised by friends of Armenia, and to cooperatively explore ways that Armenian stakeholders in Washington, DC’s international affairs community can continue to contribute to the growth of the U.S. – Armenia bilateral economic relationship,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, who moderated the talk.

Mikirditsian outlined the short term and long term goals of the Development Foundation of Armenia, which promotes the economic growth and global competitiveness of Armenia based businesses by attracting and encouraging investments and expanding export markets, as well as promoting Armenia internationally as an attractive tourism destination. The DFA was established by the Government of Armenia in 2015 with a Board of Directors chaired by the Prime Minister and includes representation both from the private sector and the ministries of Economy, Finance and Agriculture. Mikirditsian was appointed acting chief executive officer in April, 2016.

Roundtable participants asked detailed questions about a broad range of topics, including efforts to expand Armenia’s burgeoning IT sector, new tourism sector opportunities, the growing wine industry in Armenia, and the need to overcome longstanding obstacles to investment. Mikirditsian highlighted ongoing cooperation with the World Bank and a close working relationship with the U.S. Embassy and USAID, particularly in the joint effort with the Smithsonian Institute to develop Armenia’s tourism strategy and targeted capacity building initiatives. Upcoming 2016 efforts to spotlight Armenia’s textile and light manufacturing sectors during a trade exposition in Yerevan, Armenia and a planned investors’ forum in the U.S. were also discussed.

The focus on U.S. – Armenia trade relations increased significantly last year with the signing of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), a bilateral accord advocated by the ANCA for over a decade as part of a broader campaign to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation. To build on that understanding, the ANCA is working to secure a double tax treaty in order to establish a clear legal framework for investors and individuals that have business activities in both jurisdictions, preventing double taxation and facilitating the expansion of economic relations.

A citizen of the Republic of Armenia was killed in the Nice attack, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

The details are being checked. the Armenian Consulate General in Marseille keeps in touch with the relatives of the victims and will provide assistance if necessary.

A new stamp dedicated to European Football Championship “Euro 2016” will be put into circulation on July 15.

The background of the stamp depicts the national stadium of France,  “Stade de France”, colored with the colors of the French flag symbolizing the hosting country of the championship.

On the foreground of the stamp the  “Euro 2016” trophy and two football players in playing positions are depicted.

The Armenian woman killed in Nice attack saved her baby by covering the carriage with her body, witness to the attack Susan Mkhitaryan (Davtyan) told .

She said almost the whole city gathers to watch the fireworks on National Day. “The lorry ploughed into the crowd immediately after the fireworks. The Police were shooting to stop it. We managed to drop in at the nearest restaurant and hide there,” Susan said.

According to her, the driver ploughed on for 2km, leaving dozens killed. “It was a horrific scene, the situation in the city is terrible,” she said.

Susan said she he heard a lot of Armenian exclamations during the incident.

Armenia has condemned the attack in Nice.

“We condemn the Nice lorry attack. We express our condolences to the relatives of the victims,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry is currently checking whether there are Armenians among the victim of the attack. There is no confirmed data so far.

 

President Francois Hollande says 50 people injured in the Bastille day attack in Nice are now “between life and death” – in addition to the 84 known to have died.

French President Francois Hollande has described the attack as “despicable”.

He said Nice was one of the most beautiful cities in the world and that the attack had taken place on the day of celebration of liberty.

He said 84 people had died and another 50 injured, who he described as being “between life and death”.

He said the victims were French as well as foreigners and that there were a number of children among the dead.

Local reports have named the attacker as 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel.

Mohamed Bouhlal belongs to a family who resides in Msakin near the city of Sousse, a Tunisian security source told BBC Arabic, on condition of anonymity.

Bouhlal’s parents are divorced and they live in France.

Mohamed used to frequently visit Tunisia, the source added, saying the last time was eight months ago, before he went back to France.

The 31-year-old, said to have been married with three children, was not known by the Tunisian authorities to have been involved in any terrorism activities on Tunisian soil.

However, he was known by to the authorities in connection with drugs and alcohol-related offences.

Earlier, the Tunisian government issued a statement condemning the attack “in the strongest possible terms”.

“Tunisia stands by France in its fight against terrorism and supports any measure taken by the French government to protect its territory and the security of its citizens and visitors,” the statement said.

 

 

 

The action plan for beginning the visa liberalization with Armenia will be on the agenda of the next Eastern Partnership summit in 2017, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski said at the “Civil Society Perspectives on EU-Armenia Relations” conference in Yerevan.

“There is an increasing interest in Armenia concerning the future of relations with the European Union, and we are now going into a very busy period in our relations. The negotiations on a framework agreement are under way. We will soon start discussing the partnership priorities between Armenia and EU within the framework of the Neighborhood Policy,” the Ambassador said, addressing the conference.

Outlining the EU priorities in Armenia, the Ambassador said they want to contribute to the economic stability of the country and enhance good governance. The third priority is connectivity, he said.

“We want Armenia to be better connected to Europe in terms of infrastructure, roads, electricity connections, but also in terms of people-to-people contact, cultural exchanges, intellectual connectivity,” he added.

“Another priority is the security cooperation. The EU wants to help its neighbors to deal with security challenges. Of course in Armenia, the security component has a very concrete connotation, because the country faces very material military threats. But from the European perspective, we speak about a very broad range of security issues –ranging from cyber security to terrorism,” Amb. Switalski noted. Another priority is the outreach to civil society and issues relating to human rights.

Speaking about the reasons why the European Union has been trying to develop a political agenda and build bridges with Armenia, Ambassador Switalski said: “We want to show that it is possible to be a loyal member of another integration project and live with European standards and have good relations with the European Union, that there is no contradiction between membership in another integration project and European values.”

The Ambassador said they now have a common understanding with Armenia on issues such as fight against corruption, economic governance, etc. and the conclusion of the framework agreement will open a new chapter in the relations.

“It is the Armenian party determining the ambition in our relations. On countries like Armenia we are not trying to pursue anything, to impose egoistic agenda on the part of the European Union,” Piotr Switalski stressed.

The Ambassador said in the Eastern Partnership there are two groups of countries – association countries and non-association countries. The first group includes Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, while Armenia is put together with Azerbaijan and Belarus. He added however, that the offer presented by the European Union is still non-discrimination. “Even without the association agreement the countries can enjoy a lot from the European Union,” he said.