Armenpress: Armenian Human Right Defender receives French MP Anne-Laurence Petel

Emil Lazarian

 21:55,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. On October 27, Human Rights Defender of Armenia Ms. Anahit Manasyan received the member of the French National Assembly and co-chair of the France-Armenia friendship group Anne-Laurence Petel and the head of the Armenia-France friendship group of the Armenian Parliament, the chairman of the standing committee on state-legal issues, Vladimir Vardanyan.

At the meeting, Anahit Manasyan presented the issues related to the protection of the rights of people of Nagorno- Karabakh forcibly displaced as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression, which were recorded as a result of the fact-finding activities.

The Defender specifically referred to the policy of ethnic cleansing carried out against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as other cases of torture, mutilation, and ill-treatment by the Azerbaijani forces prohibited by the international law.

The mentioned information was included in the extraordinary report of the Human Rights Defender, which was the first to be presented by the Defender to international organizations and actors with a mandate to protect human rights.

Anne-Laurence Petel and Vladimir Vardanyan expressed their gratitude for the reception and emphasized the role of the Human Rights Defender's institution in the implementation of the high mission of human rights protection.

Taxes and customs duties paid by top 1000 corporate taxpayers exceed 1,2 trillion AMD in 9 months

Aram Torosian

 10:54,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The top 1000 taxpayers in Armenia paid a total of over 1 trillion 266 billion 911 million drams in taxes and customs duties to the state budget in January-September 2023, the State Revenue Committee has said.

The sum of taxes paid to the tax service amounted to more than 967 billion 676 million while the sum of payments to the customs body amounted to 299 billion 235 million drams.




French Minister of Culture commemorates Armenian Genocide victims in Tsitsernakaberd Memorial

Markos Nalchajian

 11:42,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS. French Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak visited on October 26 the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial in Yerevan to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The French Minister of Culture placed a wreath at the memorial and flowers at the Eternal Flame honoring the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

She then visited the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

The French Minister was accompanied by the Armenian Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan and the French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies.

Photos by Eduard Sepetchyan




Canadian Foreign Minister visits Armenian troops near border with Azerbaijan

Ophelia Vardapetian

 12:10,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly has visited an Armenian military position outside Jermuk to become acquainted with the situation on the border with Azerbaijan.

Commander of the 5th Army Corps of the Armed Forces of Armenia Colonel Sasun Badasyan presented the situation to the Canadian Foreign Minister and briefed her on the Azerbaijani occupation of sovereign Armenian territory in that section.

Badasyan said that Azerbaijan invaded and captured 7600 hectares of territory in that section of Vayots Dzor province in 2022.

Canada to send observers to Armenia to join EUMA

Janet Ekmekjian

 12:41,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Canada will send two observers to Armenia to join the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA), Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan has said.

The observers will arrive in a short period of time, he said.

“The Canadian Foreign Minister said that Canada is the first country outside of EU that has expressed willingness to send observers to Armenia, and two observers will arrive to Armenia in a short period of time. We hope that Canada will enhance its contribution in the future,” Hovhannisyan told reporters in Jermuk during Canadian FM Melanie Joly’s visit.

He described the opening of the Canadian embassy in Yerevan as a sign of special attention towards Armenia.

“During the visit the Canadian foreign minister addressed humanitarian support issues, Canada tripled its assistance, and all directions for deepening the cooperation were outlined. Canada is interested in the prospect of increasing its support to the democratic and human rights reforms in Armenia and numerous issues were discussed in this regard. Politically, the minister numerously stressed that Armenia’s independence, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders are important for Canada,” the Armenian Deputy FM said.

Hovhannisyan said Joly’s visit to the town of Jermuk was meaningful and symbolic. “The minister observed the situation on the ground and is now meeting with the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, and before that she observed the Azerbaijani military that invaded Armenia’s sovereign territory in September 2022. It’s no secret that Canada is a powerful country whose voice is rather influential in international organizations,” Hovhannisyan said, adding that Joly’s visit created very good prerequisites for deepening cooperation between Armenia and Canada.

On October 26, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly visited the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) operating base in Jermuk. Then, together with EUMA observers, Joly visited an Armenian military position outside Jermuk to become acquainted with the situation on the border with Azerbaijan. She then met with forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh who have been accommodated in Jermuk.

[see video]

Armenia hopes to conclude peace treaty with Azerbaijan in the coming months – Pashinyan

Emil Lazarian

 12:53,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenia hopes to conclude a peace agreement and establish diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan in the “coming months”, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in his speech at the 4th Tbilisi Silk Road Forum on October 26.

Pashinyan also unveiled the Crossroads of Peace concept developed by his administration.

“The key meaning of this project is the development of connections between Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran, through restoring, building and launching roads, railways, pipelines, cables and transmission lines,” he said.

The project is based on the principles of respect of sovereignty of the countries.

“Principle number one: All infrastructures, including roads, railways, air routes, pipelines, cables and transmission lines will function under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through the territory of which they pass. Principle number two: Each country will implement border and customs control on its territory through its state institutions, and will ensure the security of the infrastructures, including the safe passage of goods, vehicles and persons. By the way, soon a special division will be created in the Armenian law enforcement system with a function of ensuring the security of international connections passing through Armenia and safety of the passage of goods, vehicles and persons, jointly with our patrol police of course. Principle number three: the abovementioned infrastructures can be used for both international and domestic transportation. Principle number four: All countries will use each other’s infrastructures by the principle of equality and reciprocity. Some simplifications of border and customs control procedures can be carried out under the principle of equality and reciprocity,” Pashinyan said, adding that the Armenian government is ready to open, reopen, rebuild and build all regional connections based on these principles.

He said that the mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity between Armenia and Azerbaijan – with Armenia’s territory recorded as 29,800 square kilometers and Azerbaijan’s 86,600, is one of the significant principles for peace. The border delimitation should be carried out based on the 1991 Alma-Ata declaration, Pashinyan reiterated.

“As I said, we hope to sign an agreement on peace and establishment of relations with Azerbaijan in the coming months based on these principles. I hope that soon there will also be developments in the direction of opening the border between Armenia and Turkey for citizens of third countries and diplomatic passport holders, which will also bring a positive signal to the whole region,” Pashinyan said.

Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov also participated in the forum.

Armenia’s Silicon Valley seeks Indian partnership

Parkev Tvankchian
The Economic Times, India
Oct 27 2023
SECTIONS

By 

Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury

, ET Bureau

  YEREVAN (Armenia): Armenia's IT industry has been experiencing tremendous
growth and development and local startups including firms dealing with
ArtificialIntelligence are seeking active partnerships with Indian counterparts
and open chapters in South Asia’s biggest market. 
Armenia has emerged as an attractive destination for technology companies and
startups, thanks to its favorable business environment, skilled workforce and
supportive government initiatives, local industry experts told ET. 
Armenia is home to some of the most industry disrupting startups in the medical crypto, AI, and design fields. With a
large pool of tech talent and a history of noteworthy astrophysicists and chess grandmasters, it is no surprise that there
are so many successful innovative tech startups. 
With a strong connection with the Silicon Valley through the strong Armenian diaspora, the Armenian IT industry is
building connections with India’s Silicon Valley in Bangalore, besides Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR region. 
Dr Yervant Zorian, an Armenian by birth and Chief Architect of Synopsys that designs chips, told ET that Synopsys has a
sizable presence in India including Bangalore and Noida. Zorian has been a frequent traveler across Indian cities. 
Dr Zorian recalled that Armenian success in the IT industry and solutions had its genesis during the Soviet period and
could have been described as the Soviet Union’s Silicon Valley. Later post-independence Armenian diaspora in the Silicon Valley in the USA was quick to set up connections in Armenia establishing chapters here. 
Synopsys Armenia provides R&D and product support for electronic design automation, design for manufacturing, and
semiconductor intellectual property solutions.
“Can machine learning solve the issue of background noise?” 
This question is what led Davit Baghdasaryan to quit Twillo
and partner up with Arto to start Krisp in 2017 to enable people to be more effective communicators in online calls.
Krisp is an AI startup that removes background noise from conference calls. 
It’s based in Armenia and has created a one of-a-kind noise cancelling app. It has attracted attention from the tech world for its innovation, recording significant
success and growth in a very short time
Krisp provides Noise Cancellation, Voice Cancellation, Echo Cancellation, and more to individuals and businesses,
helping them to be heard clearer during online meetings in an increasingly remote world. 
With just a press of a button, millions of people around the world can now enjoy calls, crystal clear.
Krisp is keen to expand its presence in India from currently one staff and is in talks with other partners including in the
Space Tech sector, Davit told ET. 
Armenia is soon launching its first satellite. Earlier this year when the Armenian NSA
visited New Delhi he sought India’s support in the space sector.
Besides AI based solutions and IT industry, Armenia has an emerging Venture Capitalist ecosystem. 
SmartGate VC is one
such firm. 
Ashot Arzumanyan, a partner in SmartGate VC explained how they are funding various ventures including
Krisp and seeking to explore the Indian market.
With more capital flowing into Armenia, more and more startups are reaching success. Armenia is no longer just an
outsourcing hotspot but a center of innovation in the global market. 
There are many top name companies that have
branches in Armenia but more and more entrepreneurs are opening their own startups to provide solutions for their
respective markets.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/armenias-silicon-valley-seeks-indian-partnership/articleshow/104742975.cms
  

Armenia can restore gas pipelines from Azerbaijan – Deputy Minister

Hovik Karapetian
Goa Chronicle
Oct 27 2023
By:GC NewsDesk

Yerevan: Armenia can restore gas pipelines from Azerbaijan after resolving problems between the two countries, Armenian Deputy Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Minister Hakob Vardanyan said at the Silk Road forum in Tbilisi.

Vardanyan said that in the Soviet Union, Armenia received gas from Azerbaijan. Three large gas pipelines from Azerbaijan served this purpose, he said.

“And now we can restore these gas pipelines if there are no unresolved political issues between our countries. We can also be a transit country for gas transportation from Azerbaijan to Europe, the same applies to electricity,” Sputnik Armenia quoted the deputy minister as saying.

Yerevan, he said, is ready to restore all communications.

“This could change the energy diversification of the region,” the deputy minister said.

https://goachronicle.com/armenia-can-restore-gas-pipelines-from-azerbaijan-deputy-minister/

Armenia and Hungary Committed to Rebuilding Relations

Yeghisabet Vorskanian
Hungary Today
Oct 27 2023
MTI-Hungary Today 2023.10.27.

Hungary remains committed to rebuilding relations with Armenia, and after a ten-year diplomatic hiatus, the parties are working to establish cooperation that serves the interests of both nations, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Yerevan on Friday.

At a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, the minister stressed that this visit “marks the end of a long journey,” as there had been no diplomatic relations between the two countries for ten years. He recalled that last year, the two sides decided to normalize relations.


He said that the strong common ground of Christianity is a great help in this, as both Hungary and Armenia have a long Christian heritage. He added that the Armenian Christian Church has played an important role in rebuilding the relationship.

he said.

He also stressed that the government had provided 116 million forints (EUR 300,000) in aid to families resettling from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and 100,000 doses of vaccines during the coronavirus epidemic. “Hungary remains committed to rebuilding these links,” he said.


As a sign of this, he said, another 40 million forints (EUR 90,000) will be provided to families moving from Nagorno-Karabakh, and Hungary is ready to participate in the medical treatment of the resettled families and to offer summer camps for the children of the affected families next year.


Szijjártó also announced that a cooperation agreement on higher education will be signed, allowing thirty Armenians to study at Hungarian universities on scholarships every year. He also touched on the Armenian minority in Hungary, stressing that the budget support for the community has been increased fourfold over the last thirteen years. He said that he had asked his Armenian counterpart to authorize the establishment of a Hungarian consular representation in Yerevan.
He said that the government would encourage WizzAir to add Budapest as a destination for flights from Yerevan. “Then the direct link could really be physically established. I think that after ten years, this is not a bad step forward for a meeting,” he said.

The minister also underlined that the Caucasus is extremely important for Europe, both because of its proximity and because the region can help to overcome the continent’s energy crisis, and there is a realistic possibility of obtaining new resources from there.
“This is precisely why we Hungarians want Azerbaijan and Armenia to be able to sign a peace agreement as soon as possible, which will then guarantee that people in this region can live in peace and tranquillity for the next decades, and which will enable the next years and decades to be about peaceful economic development in the region,” he said.

The relationship between Hungary and Armenia was severely damaged when in 2004, an Azerbaijani army officer, Ramil Safarov, had murdered his Armenian colleague stationed in the same dormitory while both taking place in an education program in Budapest. During his trial at a Hungarian court, Safarov’s Azerbaijani defender had argued that in their native country, killing an Armenian does not count as a crime. The perpetrator was eventually sentenced to 30 years in prison.

In 2012, on the basis of a bilateral agreement, Safarov was allowed back home with the Azeri authorities’ promise that he would serve the rest of his sentence in a domestic prison. On his return, however, President Ilham Aliyev had granted Safarov immediate mercy. In a reaction to this, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan then announced that his country would sever all diplomatic and official relations with Hungary.

https://hungarytoday.hu/armenia-and-hungary-committed-to-rebuilding-relations/