19:41,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS.  Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has sent a congratulatory message to the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the occasion of India's national holiday, Republic Day.

"Warm greetings to my dear colleague  Dr. S. Jaishankar  and  friendly people of India  on occasion of Republic Day. 

Building on our enhanced bilateral agenda, Armenia  stands ready to work jointly towards common goals and raising our friendly relations and partnership to a new level,'' Armenian Foreign Minister said in a post on X.

 12:40,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has sent a congratulatory letter to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on the occasion of Republic Day.

The letter, published by the Prime Minister’s Office, reads as follows:

"I send warm congratulations to you and the friendly people of India on the occasion of the Republic Day of India.

“Republic Day is a significant occasion for the nations and states that have fought for independence to reaffirm the commitment of the people and the state to the principles of justice, sovereignty, equality and fraternity established by the Constitution.

“The Constitution of the Republic of India not only embodies the historical and political culture of India, but is also the best example of harmoniously combining the provisions of the nation's political and philosophical thought in the supreme law.

“It is no coincidence that the ideas of the Constitution and Constitutionalism played a major role in the core of the centuries-old Armenian-Indian friendship, taking into account that the Armenian people’s first Constitution was drafted in India. Today we can already proudly record that our friendly ties formed throughout centuries and the common past of our peoples are entering the practical stage of new achievements in bilateral and multilateral relations.

“Congratulating you again on the occasion of the Republic Day, I wish you and the friendly people of India peace and prosperity."

 10:15,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. A startup founded by Armenian IT experts a few years ago is already used for business cybersecurity solutions by more than 40,000 enterprises and companies across the world.

EasyDMARC offers easy Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) deployment, an email authentication protocol, designed to protect companies from phishing attacks.

“EasyDMARC is building the world's largest DMARC ecosystem. We are committed to ensuring businesses' security in cyberspace. Our solution prevents companies from data leakage, protects them from financial loss, and email phishing attacks, averts customer loss, secures their email accounts and prevents the unauthorized use of domains,” reads the company’s description online.

“93% of cyberattacks starts from an email,” EasyDMARC co-founder and CTPO Avag Arakelyan explained to Armenpress.

DMARC is a technical solution protecting companies’ domains. However, its deployment has some risks, or unintended consequences, such as preventing not only emails sent by scammers or hackers, but also genuine ones. That’s where EasyDMARC steps in and offers a solution. “Our product mitigates the risks and enables businesses to deploy DMARC without any additional problems,” Arakelyan said. 

According to Arakelyan, 100,000 domains of more than 40,000 companies from 130 countries now use EasyDMARC. The list of users includes tech company Picsart, Italian luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari, the Japanese multinational electronics company Panasonic, as well as the English football club Manchester United and even the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women.

Google and Yahoo have made it mandatory for companies to deploy DMARC.

In a 2022 article for Forbes, EasyDMARC CEO and co-founder Gerasim Hovhannisyan argued that DMARC will become mandatory in a few years.

 11:09,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. The top 1000 corporate taxpayers in Armenia paid a total of over 1,7 trillion drams in taxes in 2023, according to the State Revenue Committee.

The figure includes 1 trillion 308 billion 983 million drams to the tax authority and 401 billion 594 million drams to the customs authority.

The top 5 corporate taxpayers are the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine, Grand Tobacco, Gazprom Armenia, Mobile Center Art and Pretty Way.

 13:07,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has approved Sweden's bid to join NATO on Thursday, ending months of delay and leaving only Hungary standing in the way of Stockholm's membership of the military alliance, Reuters reported citing Erdogan’s office.

Erdogan signed off on the Turkish parliament's earlier ratification of the bid, the presidency's official gazette showed, about 20 months after Stockholm first asked to join NATO.

"We welcome Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO application. We have now reached a decisive milestone on the road to full membership in NATO,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on social media network X.

"Only Hungary's ratification remains before Sweden can become a member of NATO," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom added on the same platform.

Erdogan's approval of the Swedish bid comes a day after U.S. President Joe Biden sent a letter to leaders of key Capitol Hill committees, informing them of his intention to begin the formal notification process for the F-16 sale once Ankara completes Sweden's NATO accession process.

 15:06,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Ralph Yirikian, Director General of Ucom, shared practical business management skills and successful case studies with students at the School of Ethics. Professionals from various age groups and occupation had the opportunity to attend the lecture, focusing on the utilization of effective business tools. Participants included lawyers, human resource management specialists, doctors, and other professionals who engaged in this hands-on session.

"Today, business in Armenia is highly valued and operates according to established rules, contributing to the country's economic stability. Success is attainable through the adoption of a systematic business mindset and adherence to fair competition regulations. Effectively managing business requires a thorough understanding of market demand, competition dynamics, and the integration of global trends into the Armenian context. Furthermore, it is crucial to set a precedent by establishing a business model and ethical standards, fostering positive relationships with both employees and partners. Upholding the regulations outlined in the established strategy stands as a fundamental tool for success in business," stated Ucom Director General Ralph Yirikian.

Ralph Yirikian discussed strategic thinking, goal-setting, and the mechanisms for achieving them, using Ucom, the national communications operator in Armenia, as an illustrative example. He emphasized the importance of embracing mistakes without fear and encouraged the exploration of unconventional solutions to address challenges.

In summary, Ralph Yirikyan emphasized that initiative is a crucial prerequisite for success in all business endeavors. Following the lecture, the General Director of Ucom engaged in a question-and-answer session, fostering a group discussion with the participants.

The School of Ethics is unique in the region and in Armenia, offering students the opportunity to delve into the realms of national and international ethics, etiquette, and communication skills enhancement.

***

Ucom is the fastest fixed and mobile services provider in Armenia. The company is the absolute leader of the local IPTV and fixed internet market, as well as occupies the key position on the Armenian mobile internet market. With modernized 4G+ and own fiber optic networks meeting the best international standards, Ucom provides a complete set of fixed and mobile communication services to more than 700,000 subscribers.

 17:25,

YEREVAN, 26 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 26 January, USD exchange rate down by 0.60 drams to 403.61 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.79 drams to 438.52 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.06 drams to 4.50 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.72 drams to 513.96 drams.

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

Gold price down by 50.74 drams to 26260.91 drams. Silver price up by 0.92 drams to 296.83 drams.

 18:07,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Ameriabank is the largest taxpayer among Armenian banks for the sixth year in a row. According to the data for January-December, 2023, total taxes paid by the bank to the state budget amounted to AMD 25.7 bn., Ameriabank said in a press release.

This indicator has more than tripled Y-o-Y, total taxes paid by Ameriabank in 2022 amounting to AMD 8.2 bn.

Ameriabank ranks 7^th on the State Revenue Committee’s Top 1000 Taxpayers list vs 24^th in 2022.

Ameriabank CJSC

Ameriabank is a leading financial and technology company in Armenia, a major contributor to the Armenian economy, with assets exceeding AMD 1 trillion. In the course of digital transformation, it has launched a number of innovative solutions and platforms going beyond banking-only needs of its diverse customer base, thus creating a dynamically evolving financial technology space. 

Ameria was the first in Armenia to create ecosystems for both businesses and individuals, which give one-window access to a range of banking and non-banking services, among them - Estate.ameriabank.am, Automarket.ameriabank.am, Business.ameriabank.am. 

As a truly customer-centric company, Ameria aims to be a trusted and secure financial technology space with seamless solutions to improve the quality of life.

 19:00,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented the Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement process to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, Pashinyan said Friday during his joint news conference with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in Tbilisi.

"I also briefed my colleague on the efforts made by the Armenian government to normalize relations with Azerbaijan. It was emphasized that belligerent and maximalist ambitions do not contribute to the settlement process.

I hope that after the Azerbaijani presidential elections, the negotiation process will reach its full scope to complete the amendments of the peace treaty based on the already agreed-upon and well-known principles," said the Prime Minister.

 20:28,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS.  Russia has invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan to Moscow a few days ago to discuss the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova said during the weekly briefing.

"Ararat Mirzoyan has been invited multiple times to visit Moscow for consultations on the peace treaty, starting from September of the last year. The latest invitation was sent to Yerevan just a few days ago," said Zakharova.