15:37, 15 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenia doesn’t have any territorial claims against any country but it has been developing its military and will defend itself until the end if needed, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has said.

“Is there any signal indicating that Armenia believes there will be peace in any case? Of course not. We have a military, we are developing our military, we will defend ourselves until the end if needed. But we are not planning to attack any country and we don’t have any territorial claims against any country,” Simonyan told reporters when asked on the possibility of war on the backdrop of the latest statements made by Azerbaijan.

 15:54, 15 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The exchange of proposals on a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has said.

Asked to comment on the Armenian response to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s latest rhetoric, Simonyan said that nothing “drastic” has happened. He did however note that Aliyev’s rhetoric is sometimes detached from the logic of the negotiations.

 Speaking about the possible peace treaty, Simonyan said that all clauses of the would-be treaty will concern both sides. “There’s not a single thing in the draft treaty that would concern only one party. For example, when we talk about pulling back the troops, we are talking about a mirror [reciprocal] withdrawal. All narratives concern both Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Simonyan said.

Asked to comment on the Azerbaijani statements regarding the so-called Zangezur corridor, the Speaker reiterated that the draft peace treaty doesn’t include any clause on an extraterritorial corridor.

 15:51, 15 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. "Yeremyan Academy of Culinary Arts and Hospitality"  is summarizing the activities of 2023.

In an interview with Armepress, the director of the academy, Aida Tigranyan discussed the programs implemented during the previous year, highlighted achievements, touched upon international collaborations and further activities.

Ahead of the 5th anniversary of  the Yeremyan Academy, the center  has been recertified by Activate Learning Group, City of Oxford College

2023 was quite a productive year for the Academy, both from the point of view of international and local collaborations and from the point of view of replenishing the army of our students.

One of our most significant achievements in 2023 was the re-certification by our partner, City of Oxford College. This achievement is a testament to our years of effective, consistent, and purposeful efforts.

Assessment and re-certification are carried out in line with high international standards and, usually, after the assessment, certain observations and instructions related to improving the  work quality are given.

I am proud to announce that we have received outstanding assessments from our international partners. This circumstance is, of course, more binding, and the Academy is committed to maintaining the same level of dedication and pace in  the future activities.

In terms of programs implemented through international cooperation, 2023 was a remarkably fruitful year for us.

Similar to previous years, 2023 continued to be marked by active collaboration, joint projects, and interesting initiatives for us.

Cooperating with various organizations and embassies, we welcomed guests and organized events for the exchange of experience and knowledge.

In June, we had a successful cooperation with the US Embassy in Armenia. As part of the joint initiative of the Culinary Diplomacy Program and the US Embassy, we hosted a famous American chef, the star of the "Chopped" cooking TV show, Amanda Freitag.

Amanda also organized a competition for our students, following the format of the renowned American cooking show "Chopped." Subsequently, she  shared her experience and skills. Amanda was deeply impressed by the enthusiasm and creative approaches displayed by the participants, and, naturally, by the Academy as well.

Our joint work with the Italian Embassy in Armenia was our second initiative. As part of the "Days of Italian Cuisine" event, we hosted a master class and facilitated an experience exchange program for both Italian chefs and students.

 On the initiative of the Italian Embassy in Armenia, Professors Raffaele Massanova and Giaquinto Michele Aniello, along with students from the Ancel Case Higher Culinary Educational Institution of Italy, visited Armenia. We exchanged the secrets of our cuisine and traditions, and our Italian colleagues reciprocated by sharing theirs. This experience proved to be highly successful for both parties; our guests were thoroughly impressed with the Academy, its technical equipment, and programs.

These two cooperations will be continuous; we have already agreements. During the year, we hosted various guests, high-ranking officials, ambassadors. Those visits will be the basis for interesting and important projects for further strong cooperation.

 One of the significant projects implemented in 2023 was the "Hot Kitchen," in which the Academy was also actively involved. The project applicants and participants, witnessing the Academy's capabilities, became even more enthused and interested in pursuing a career as a chef. This stands as the most significant assessment and proof that we are on the right track in fulfilling our mission, continuing to contribute to elevating the role of the chef profession. Several participants have already applied to us to further their professional education.

 Assisting our compatriots from Artsakh remains a top priority for us.

We have always implemented projects for our compatriots. Following the events of September 2023, our entire team  mobilized. We developed programs for accelerated courses in cooking, confectionery, and restaurant management and service, and we started the acceptance of forcibly displaced persons from Artsakh.

 Our goal was to assist them by providing the necessary knowledge and skills to address employment challenges. Following the courses, job opportunities were offered, especially within "Yeremyan Projects" restaurants, and many participants accepted the offers. The course program for citizens of Artsakh is currently ongoing.

Ahead are the 5th anniversary events

In 2023, we had around 400 students, which is quite a good result. 2024 is a jubilee year for us. We will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Academy's activity, and we will carry out interesting initiatives and events.

We will continue to improve our educational programs, new collaborations and projects.

 16:47, 15 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has always supported the One China principle, foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan told Armenpress when asked to present Armenia’s position regarding the 2024 Taiwanese “presidential election”.

“Armenia has always supported the One China principle. We reiterate our position on this occasion,” Badalyan said.

 17:23, 15 January 2024

YEREVAN, 15 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 15 January, USD exchange rate up by 0.14 drams to 405.49 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.53 drams to 443.65 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.04 drams to 4.64 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.71 drams to 516.27 drams.

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

Gold price up by 354.61 drams to 26799.11 drams. Silver price up by 0.43 drams to 300.56 drams.

 17:56, 15 January 2024

 18:06, 15 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the defense of the thesis of high school students of Mkhitar Sebastatsi educational complex in Yerevan, the PM's Office said.

The research project of the student in the high school-research college of the educational complex is determined by the state standard of general education. The defense of research works for the 2023-2024 academic year began in the January camp 2024, will continue until the end of the academic year (one group per week, according to the readiness of the students).

Today, the second group of students presented their research work. The Prime Minister attended the defense at the invitation of one of them, Davit Muradyan, who is studying in the 10th grade. The topic of David's research work was "Non-verbal communication in politics". Then other students also presented their research works.

According to the source, the Prime Minister thanked and noted that such research works are interesting. According to Nikol Pashinyan, the implementation of research works in schools as part of the educational process is already a mandatory condition by the new standard of general education. 

"Today we made sure that it was the right decision and that the research component should be highlighted. In general, we believe, and this is the most important segment of our reforms in the field of education, that education and research are closely interconnected. What we heard and saw is clearly useful. First of all, why are we interested in such meetings and discussions? Because we constantly talk about that we should go after the decisions we made and see how they are expressed and maybe we need to improve and change them. This is also the reason why we are interested in attending such events," said the Prime Minister.

 19:27, 15 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia referred to the pogroms against Armenians in Baku 34 years ago and noted that the pogroms became the culmination of policy of forcible displacement and ethnic cleansing of Armenian population from Azerbaijani SSR.

The Ministry  said in a post on X and noted that hundreds were murdered, mutilated and disappeared, half a million became refugees.

“We pay tribute to memory of innocent victims and stress imperative to prevent such policies and need of all the rights to be addressed,” reads the post.

 20:08, 15 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS.  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Richard Nephew, Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption of the US State Department, the PM's Office said.

According to the source, the Prime Minister emphasized close cooperation and its continuity with the US administration in the fight against corruption and the development of democratic institutions. Nikol Pashinyan noted that the anti-corruption policy and promotion of the reform agenda is a priority for the Armenian government and the executive is consistently moving towards the development of anti-corruption mechanisms and increasing the efficiency of institutions. In this context, the Prime Minister emphasized the further implementation of programs with partner states, active cooperation, exchange of experience and capacity building.

It is noted that Richard Nephew noted that the US administration will continue to support the Armenian government in strengthening democracy, effective implementation of reforms in the field of justice and fighting corruption. According to the Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption of the US State Department, the USA highly appreciates the steps taken by the Armenian government in the above directions. Richard Nephew added that within the framework of his visit to Yerevan, he had effective discussions with Armenian partners with the goal to give a new impulse to further cooperation.

Issues related to the digitalization process, as well as the implementation of joint programs in other directions were also touched upon at the meeting.

 21:30, 15 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. An explosion at a furniture workshop in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on Monday killed six people and injured two dozen others, officials said, reports Agence France-Presse.

"The bodies of six people have been found and removed from the rubble," the prosecutor's office said.

It is noted that at least 24 people were injured, three of whom were pulled from the rubble, it said earlier.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear but prosecutors said they had lanched a criminal investigation into a breach of "fire safety regulations".