12:21,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is still a CSTO ally, the defense bloc’s Secretary-General Imangali Tasmagambetov has said.

“I think there’s no sense in drawing conclusions from this situation, Armenia was, and still is, our ally,” the CSTO Secretary General told TASS news agency. “I think this says it all. As far as the CSTO Secretariat knows, the reasons behind the Armenian delegation’s absence are technical in nature. In any case, that’s the decision of an independent and sovereign state whom no other state or organization can impact. The CSTO respects the decision of the Republic of Armenia as a full member of the organization,” he said, referring to the absence of Armenia in the bloc's session in Belarus.

 12:36,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The economic activity index grew 9,2% in January-October 2023 compared to the same period of 2022, according to data released by the Statistical Committee.

Industrial production output dropped 0,5%.

Construction grew 16,4%.

Trade turnover grew 23,3% while the volume of services grew 12,1%.

The consumer price index grew 2,5%, while the industrial product price index grew 1,6%.

Electricity production dropped 3,5%.

Foreign trade grew 41,2% in the reporting period (exports grew 38,5% and imports grew 42,9%).

 12:47,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The official opening ceremony of the educational and cultural program “Armenian Carpet Weaving master class in Poland” took place in the carpet hall of the Warsaw Royal Castle.

This initiative is made possible through the financial support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and with the initiative of Museum of Folk Arts named after Hovhannes Sharambeyan, in cooperation with Warsaw Royal Castle and the Polish-Armenian Fund, the commissioner of diaspora affairs in Poland and under the auspices of the Embassy of Armenia in Poland.

Within the context of the program, the masters of the Museum of Folk Arts named after Hovhannes Sharambeyan will hold carpet weaving trainings available for different age groups.

The event was attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Poland Alexander Arzoumanian, spiritual pastor of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Poland Fr. Minas Hakhverdyan, Armenian Honorary Consul in Lodz Rafal Choma, Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs in Poland Diana Hovakimyan and also the representatives of the Armenian community.  

The coordinator of the Warsaw Royal Castle-Museum Agnieszka Jedrzejewska-Kurek presented the exclusive carpet collection of the “Tereza Sahakyan” foundation. Agnieszka Jedrzejewska-Kurek presented the history of the collection and emphasized the importance of holding educational programs in Poland.

Welcoming the attendees, Gayane Aslanyan, Deputy Director of the Museum of Folk Arts, underscored the primary objective of the program; the promotion of intangible cultural heritage, with a specific focus on carpet weaving, and fostering awareness about the cultural heritage within the Armenian community in Poland.

 14:07,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has received Masatsugu Asakawa, the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The Prime Minister praised the close cooperation between the Armenian government and the ADB and underscored that it contributes to the development of infrastructures in Armenia, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout. Prime Minister Pashinyan added that the Armenian government is interested in the implementation of new projects and emphasized that the development of infrastructures is a priority for the Armenian government.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa noted the productive partnership with Armenia and said that the ADB is ready to expand the joint projects. In this context, the current programs and possibilities of implementing new programs in school building within the framework of improving seismic safety project, road construction, development of healthcare infrastructures and other directions were discussed.

 15:06,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The certification process of subgroup 1 of servicemen of highest and senior officer ranks was launched on November 27.

Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan and his deputy Arman Sargsyan attended the ceremony marking the launch of the tests.

“This is an indicator that everyone in the military is equal in fulfilling their mission. The commander and the soldier standing in the last line are equal in battle, they are brothers. This is important to me. Good luck to you all,” Papikyan told the troops.

 15:22,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Vagif Khachatryan, an elderly ethnic Armenian man from Nagorno-Karabakh who was kidnapped by Azeri border guards during his ICRC-mediated medical evacuation on July 29 and later sentenced to 15 years in prison in Azerbaijan on fabricated war crime charges, has appealed the verdict to a court of appeals, his lawyer told Azeri media.

Azeri authorities pressed fabricated charges against Khachatryan and jailed him in Baku.   

The Armenian foreign ministry earlier said that the arrest of the Red Cross-protected patient from Nagorno-Karabakh amounts to war crime.

Prominent lawyer Siranush Sahakyan said that the kidnapping constitutes extraordinary rendition in terms of international law and a due process is therefore ruled out.

The kidnapped man’s daughter, in a plea to the UN to ensure the safe release of her father, said that all charges pressed by the Azeri prosecution are fabricated and her father is innocent.

Khachatryan’s testimony in court was even by an Azeri translator earlier in October.

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 15:33,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Karen Giloyan has met with boxer Noel Mikaelian, the new WBC world cruiserweight champion.

Mikaelian, 33, who has a record of 27 wins and 2 losses, won the vacant WBC cruiserweight title after defeating Ilunga Makabu in Miami.

Mikaelian defeated Makabu (Democratic Republic of the Congo) by way of knock-out in the third round.

“We were negotiating for quite some time around organizing a WBC world championship fight. My last fight was for the WBC Silver belt, which I won. The fight for the WBC championship was very important, and my opponent, the representative of the Congo, was a very strong athlete. He held the championship title for three years. As a result I knocked him out in the third round. I am very proud to represent Armenia,” Mikaelian said.

Giloyan congratulated Mikaelian on the win and wished him good luck in the future.

“Thank you for always keeping our country’s honor high and for your efforts,” Giloyan told the champion.

“You have an army of fans here in Armenia who follow your fights and get inspired by your victories.”

Noel Mikaelian thanked for the reception and expressed readiness to support the development of professional boxing in Armenia.

“I want to support the development of professional boxing in Armenia with everything I can. I am also participating in charity initiatives and I am very happy to be able to contribute to the development of my country,” the boxer added.

Giloyan said that Armenia must regularly become the location of major sports events. He said that Armenia hosted 6 European and World championships in amateur boxing, weightlifting and sambo in the last two years. He didn’t rule out that Armenia could also host professional boxing events.

 16:55,

YEREVAN, 27 NOVEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 27 November, USD exchange rate up by 0.13 drams to 402.31 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.99 drams to 440.73 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 4.53 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.50 drams to 507.84 drams.

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

Gold price up by 111.81 drams to 25880.13 drams. Silver price up by 0.74 drams to 306.61 drams.

 18:13,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan Monday hosted World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus Rolande Pryce.

Welcoming the guests, Tigran Khachatryan  briefed  Rolande Pryce on the humanitarian situation resulting from the forced displacement of more than 100,000 people from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the measures implemented by the Government to overcome it, the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office said.

According to the source,  World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus assured that the World Bank is ready to support Armenia in effective management of the situation.

It is noted that during the meeting, the interlocutors discussed a wide range of issues related to bilateral cooperation, including irrigation, drinking water, healthcare, and several other areas.

 18:22,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan, the regular session of the interdepartmental coordination council for the implementation of the requirements and provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement was held, the Deputy Prime Minister's office said.

According to the source, during the session, the draft of the long-term strategy for the development of the Republic of Armenia with low emissions of greenhouse gases was discussed, a detailed reference was made to the actions necessary to ensure the mid-term and long-term targets set in various sectoral directions within its framework.

The members of the Council were presented with the works carried out in the direction of improving the atmospheric air monitoring system, emphasizing the importance of the continuity of the process of installing air pollution monitoring stations.

It is noted that the participants exchanged thoughts on the priority directions of the Council's work in 2024 for the purpose of effective coordination and harmonization of climate-related measures.