14:45,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. The relations between Armenia and Canada are based on common values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.

“This creates a broad field of cooperation for the benefit of strengthening democratic institutions and increasing welfare in Armenia. We are considering the possibilities of more active involvement of Canada with the purpose of expanding cooperation in trade and the economy. I must also mention interparliamentary dialogue and parliamentary diplomacy, which have always had an important place in our relations,” Mirzoyan said.

Mirzoyan also mentioned the Armenian community of Canada for its role in deepening the relations.

 14:59,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. All messages by Armenia’s international partners and the binding rulings of the International Court of Justice failed to have an effective impact on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and as a result Azerbaijan perpetrated ethnic cleansing there, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly in Yerevan.

“I have to add that we are sure that applicable mechanisms exist and their effective implementation can contribute to overcoming the atmosphere of impunity in the region and addressing the rights of the people deprived of their homeland,” Mirzoyan said.

The Armenian FM thanked the Canadian government for providing humanitarian assistance through the ICRC to meet the needs of the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh.

 15:13,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. The EU-hosted Armenian-Azeri summit scheduled to take place before the end of October in Brussels has been postponed by Azerbaijan, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said Wednesday.

During a joint press conference with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, FM Mirzoyan was asked which party did not find the time for the trilateral meeting in Brussels, given the EU special envoy’s statement that the summit won’t take place due to timeframe issues.

“The answer to your question is very direct and short, who didn’t have the time – obviously the President of Azerbaijan, because we are ready to participate in that meeting even now. I hope that the problem was indeed pertaining to specific timeframes and soon it will be possible to agree on new timeframes of a new meeting. Armenia is ready to participate in that meeting, we continue to remain committed to the agenda of peace,” the Armenian FM said, adding that Armenia hasn’t yet received proposals on possible new timeframes.

He said he had contacts with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov two days ago in Iran. “Armenia is ready to swiftly continue the peace process, including in the direction of signing a peace treaty,” Mirzoyan said.

 15:34,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s economic activity index grew 9,7% in January-September 2023 compared to last year’s same period, according to data released by the Statistical Committee.

Industrial production output dropped 0,6%, while gross agricultural output increased 1,7%.

Construction grew 17%.

Trade turnover grew 23,3%. Services grew 13,4%.

The consumer price index grew 2,8%, while the industrial product price index grew 1,3%. Electrical energy production decreased 2,8%.

Foreign trade grew 47,2% (exports grew 48,5% and imports grew 46,4%).

 15:48,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Possible sanctions against Azerbaijan are now on the table and Canada is closely following the developments in South Caucasus, expecting Armenia’s territorial integrity to be respected, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan.

“When it comes to sanctions, I’ve answered that question already, I said that everything is on the table, that being said, we expect that Armenia’s territorial integrity be respected, and for us this is definitely something that we are watching,” Joly said when asked whether Canada considers sanctions against Azerbaijan.

“Canada commends Armenia’s ongoing efforts to promote peace and stability within the region. But we all agree that more needs to be done. As part of our continued work, Canada calls for the full respect of the territorial integrity of Armenia and reaffirms the importance of the strict adherence to the principle of the non-use of force and threat of use of force. Canada also calls on the Azerbaijani government for the respect of the right of return of the recently displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and to show good faith in facilitating the restoration of unimpeded humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh for the safe return of ethnic Armenians,” the Canadian FM said.

Joly said Canada is working with partners to mitigate the impact of the “unjustifiable military action" on civilians.

Later on Wednesday, Joly will attend the opening of the Canadian embassy in Yerevan.

On October 26, she will visit Jermuk to become acquainted with the situation and meet forcibly displaced families.

Joly said that Canada is increasing its humanitarian assistance for the displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh to a total of 3,9 million dollars. This includes an additional 1 million dollars to the UNHCR and 2,5 million dollars to the ICRC to help meet the needs of the forcibly displaced persons of NK.

 16:20,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly inaugurated Canada’s embassy in Yerevan on Wednesday.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan attended the ceremonial opening of the embassy.

 16:30,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. The Republic of Armenia Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs is launching a new volunteer program for professionals called DiasPro. This program invites individuals to contribute to the work of government institutions in Armenia by providing their expertise, skills and insights.

The program was initiated and developed in response to the interests of various professional groups expressing their readiness to work on a voluntary basis to assist the government of Armenia and the needs of Armenia’s government institutions.

Individuals specializing in healthcare, social issues, human rights, economics, and tourism are invited to apply to the first round of the program.  Diaspora Armenians who wish to apply must meet the following criteria: have obtained a higher education and have at least 2 years of professional work experience.

It is highly desirable to have sufficient knowledge of the Armenian language.

The application deadline is November 20, 2023. To apply, visit the following link: http://diaspora.gov.am/en/programs/39

Diaspora Armenian specialists selected through interviews will start their volunteering online or onsite from January 15, 2024, based on the professional needs of each government institution.

For questions, please contact  or call +374 10 515 537, +374 10 515.

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1122791.html?fbclid=IwAR1J3whzWpQZ_tMW4CFTBMqmf0JYC43F6ibiwFn2XeHk11Umqp3WGAi40yM

 17:08,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Armenia will unveil the Crossroads of Peace project containing its visions on the opening of regional connections, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

Pashinyan announced the project during question time in parliament on Wednesday.

“Right now we’ve sent an English-language material, a brochure, for publishing, it is called the Crossroads of Peace, where our vision on the opening of regional connections and the concept of the Crossroads of Peace are expressed,” the Prime Minister said. The concept contains the possible routes and proposals.

“We see this as a regional project and we plan to send this project also to a number of international partners, expecting their response,” the Armenian PM said.

The project has been reformulated a bit, he said. The material will be published in the evening of October 25.

 17:21,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, the Prime Minister's Office said in a readout.

In his welcoming speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan specifically stated: "Dear minister, dear friends, I welcome you to our country. Let me first express my satisfaction with the opening of the Canadian Embassy in our country, which I believe is a truly remarkable event for our bilateral relations. In particular, we will now have a resident ambassador, which means we will have a constant dialogue. This is very important, especially in the current circumstances.

It is very important to state that this is the result of a series of conversations, visits. I recall that the conversation about this started in 2018, when Prime Minister Trudeau visited us, during which we had a conversation, after which special representative Dion visited us, after which the report on supporting Armenia democracy was issued.

Of course, we greatly appreciate your personal imput and efforts. Welcome to Armenia".

In turn, Mélanie Joly thanked the Prime Minister for the warm reception and noted: "I am convinced that Mr. Prime Minister from Ottawa is celebrating the opening of the embassy together with us in his thoughts and heart. We are happy to have the first ambassador in Armenia who knows Armenia well, because he has been working over the question of Armenia for a long time in the foreign department. And he is also a close friend of your fantastic ambassador to our country, who is also with us now.

We are coming to you in a period that we know is quite difficult for Armenia. We have been following the events of September 19-20, and of course, our goal is to help Armenia to deal with this difficult situation, to help also to bring more peace and stability to the region. We are doing this by first of all engaging in the EU mission, we are the only country outside the EU participating in the EU mission. This is the first step in ensuring greater engagement in Armenia.

Today we announced more funding for EU humanitarian assistance to deal with the fact that such a large number of ethnic Armenians had to flee Nagorno Karabakh. We support the efforts of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross." The Canadian Foreign Minister added that she will visit the south of Armenia tomorrow to meet the local authorities and the affected Armenians.

Nikol Pashinyan referred to the forced deportation of more than 100,000 of our compatriots from Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing policy and the resulting humanitarian situation, emphasizing in this context the importance of international support in solving the existing problems.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, the possibilities of unblocking regional transport infrastructures based on the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, jurisdiction and reciprocity, as well as peace and stability in the region.

The sides exchanged ideas on issues of Armenia-Canada cooperation agenda.

 17:12,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government will grant a Temporary Protected Status to the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

The decision will be adopted during the October 26 Cabinet meeting.

The status will enable to maximally protect the rights of the forcibly displaced persons.

“We are doing this to record the fact that our forcibly displaced brothers and sisters of Nagorno-Karabakh are refugees, and in order to also further expand the opportunities for protecting their rights both locally and internationally,” the prime minister told lawmakers.

Immediately after the adoption of the decision the forcibly displaced persons of NK will have the possibility to apply for Armenian citizenship.