11:30, 1 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Ralph Yirikian, Director General of the national telecommunications operator Ucom, delivered a leadership lecture at the Abu Dhabi University' College of Business. The telecommunications industry accomplished leader shared his extensive experience with graduates from Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge universities residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the invitation of the Leadership School Armenia.

"Leadership is the confidence to uphold truth, the courage to navigate tough decisions, and the ability to comprehend people's needs. The rest is management," remarked Ralph Yirikian.

During the session, Ucom's Director General discussed strategic thinking, goals and objectives as well as mechanisms for their attainment, using as case study the story of Armenia's green telecom operator. He emphasized the importance of embracing mistakes and proposing unconventional solutions to challenges. Ralph Yirikian noted that taking initiative is the foundational step toward leadership, regardless of the organization's size. The lecture concluded with an interactive Q&A session and group discussions led by the Director General of Ucom.

 11:54, 1 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. The Science and Business Days 2023 conference has brought together entrepreneurs, scientists, analysts and businessmen in Yerevan to identify the ways that science and business can jointly contribute to the development of a knowledge-based, rapidly growing economy.

Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan opened the forum on December 1.

Essayist, mathematical statistician, former option trader and risk analyst Nassim Taleb is the keynote speaker of the forum.

Nobel Prize laureate, molecular biologist and neuroscientist Ardem Patapoutian, who was the 2022 keynote speaker, greeted the participants of this year’s event via videocall.

The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan also attended the opening ceremony.

In her speech, Andreasyan highlighted that the government has increased science funding over 150% in the recent years, and the results are already visible.

“We live in difficult times. Difficult times are times of the mind, and the mind can be developed only if we make steady efforts in the direction of developing science. This is among our government’s priorities. In the past years we increased science funding over 150% and this has already given results,” Andreasyan said.

Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan recalled that the Armenian government has recently approved a support program for production of economically complex products. In the event of investments, the Armenian government is ready to return up to 35% of the investments to the companies in the form of cashbacks and tax privileges.

The economic policy is aimed at securing economic growth based on investments and increase of productivity.

Physicist, author, and entrepreneur César Hidalgo, whose research includes the introduction of methods to measure Economic Complexity and Relatedness, also participates in the forum.

 12:23, 1 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, will travel on December 2 to Washington, D.C., United States of America on a working visit.

Grigoryan’s office said in a statement that the agenda of the development of Armenia-U.S. bilateral relations will be discussed during the trip.

 12:36, 1 December 2023

DUBAI, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan will deliver a speech today at Day 1 of COP28 – the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai, UAE.

COPs take place every year, and are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change with almost complete membership of every country in the world.  

The COP is where the world comes together to agree on ways to address the climate crisis, such as limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

 15:12, 1 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. On November 28, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Republic of India Vahagn Afyan presented the Letters of Credence to the President of the Republic of India Droupadi Murmu.

During the tête-à-tête conversation following the Ceremony of Presentation of Credentials held at the Presidential Palace, the Ambassador noted that Armenia attaches great importance to India's traditions rich in historical, cultural and democratic values, as well as bilateral ties that record developing economic progress, the foreign ministry said in a press release.

At the meeting, the President of the Republic of India spoke about to the importance of the centuries-long Armenian presence in various regions of India, the recent activity in various fields of bilateral cooperation, and the importance of taking further steps to promote youth involvement in a number of programs.

 16:57, 1 December 2023

Chess and Jazz format for the first time introduced in Armenia.

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. On December 15, the Aram Khachaturyan Concert Hall will host the "Menq u Munq" Armenian Chess and Jazz night. All funds raised from the event will go to 4090 Charity Foundation to support education for war participants by providing their tuition fees.

Tickets may be purchased on www.tomsarkgh.am and from the box office of the concert hall. For corporate requests, please visit [email protected].

The concert is organized under the general sponsorship of AraratBank, with the participation of the State Jazz Orchestra of Armenia and Avag Margaryan. Special guests of the concert are Levon Malkhasyan and Inga Arshakyan. Partners of the event are "Musa" Wines, "Chesifay" LLC.

The event will mark the first time that the international Chess and Jazz format will be introduced to the Armenian audience. The chess games will start at 6 p.m.: pre-registered participants will have a chance to play chess with grandmasters Tigran Petrosyan and Elina Danielyan while enjoying jazz and Armenian wine. The jazz concert is due to start at 8 p.m.

At the concert, the orchestra will perform new orchestration and arrangements of works of Armenian authors. In particular, works of Komitas, Artemi Ayvazyan, Alexander Harutyunyan, Arno Babajanyan, Robert Amirkhanyan, Stepan Shakaryan and Armen Hyusnunts will be presented. The special guest of the evening, Avag Margaryan, will perform blul (Armenian flute) and zurna.

"Menq u Munq" is the second collaboration of AraratBank with 4090 Charity Foundation. The initial co-organized event was "Symphonic Mansuryan" concert, all profits of which were also directed to the provision of tuition fees for participants of the 4-day and 44-day wars.

AraratBank was established in 1991 with a mission to foster the economic development of the country while also bearing social responsibility and creating value for its shareholders, customers and employees. The Bank’s ideology revolves around healthcare, education, environment, and art, and all their CSR projects to date aim to contribute to the advancement of society and the well-being of the country. Today’s strategic programs of AraratBank are dedicated to shaping a promising tomorrow.

4090 Charity Foundation was established after the third Artsakh war, seeking to provide education opportunities to participants of the wars of 2016 and 2020, who, despite different constraints, go after their dreams to become active agents in shaping the future of our homeland. Currently, the Foundation has 97 student beneficiaries studying in undergraduate or postgraduate institutions.

The Foundation is void of political, religious or trade union membership motives and is not affiliated with any political movement and has so far been funded mainly by individual benefactors.

 17:04, 1 December 2023

YEREVAN, 1 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 1 December, USD exchange rate up by 0.23 drams to 402.88 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.79 drams to 438.70 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.07 drams to 4.47 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.49 drams to 509.52 drams.

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

Gold price down by 133.82 drams to 26364.96 drams. Silver price up by 0.90 drams to 324.08 drams.

 17:43, 1 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. During the 28th UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan participated in a discussion entitled "Zero Nuclear Energy".

 Speaking about Armenia's nuclear power plant, the President emphasized its crucial role in the country's energy sector.

“It provides 25 to 30 percent of Armenia's energy capacity,” President Khachaturyan noted.

The President recalled that in the early 1990s, when he was mayor of Yerevan, people in Armenia had been living without natural gas and electricity until the Armenian nuclear power plant resumed operation.  However, their lives changed significantly after its operation. 

‘’The operation period of Armenia's nuclear power plant has been extended until 2026 and is planned to be further extended until 2036. Armenia is already considering the construction of a new nuclear power plant. Discussions are underway with U.S., South Korean, and Russian specialists to determine the appropriate capacity for the new nuclear power plant,’’ said the President and added that he did not rule out that a decision could be made to build small modular nuclear reactors, noting that the respective discussions are underway.

28th UN Climate Change Conference is being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 30 November until 12 December 2023. More than 70,000 delegates participate at COP28, including the member states (or Parties) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Business leaders, young people, climate scientists, Indigenous Peoples, journalists, and various other experts and stakeholders are also among the participants.

UN Climate Change conferences (or COPs) take place every year, and are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change with almost complete membership of every country in the world.  
The COP is where the world comes together to agree on ways to address the climate crisis, such as limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

 18:04, 1 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. In his speech at COP28 – the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai, UAE, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan noted that the climate change remains a topping global issue.

"In 2015, we made a historic step by adopting the Paris Agreement. However, as the latest report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights, we are way off track from pathways for keeping its goals. The reasons for this are numerous, including with the continued reliance on fossil fuel-based economies at its core.

It is clear that we cannot continue down the path of excessive and unsustainable exploitation of hydrocarbons for energy production. Phasing down the demand for supply of fossil fuels is an imperative,’’ said the President.

According to President Khachaturyan,  it is needed  to build energy systems, which are more carbon neutral and less fossil fuel reliant to meet our ambitions for climate change mitigation.

“The solutions are there. We need to accelerate science and build on the positive developments of the last decade by doubling and tripling the use of renewable energy sources. For that end, we need sufficient climate financing, with the Loss and Damage fund being its cornerstone,’’ he said.

The President added that as a mountainous developing country, Armenia is facing many challenges in this area. World Bank’s projections for Armenia indicate warming at levels significantly above the global average, of up to 4.7° degrees by the 2090s, under the highest emissions pathway.

“This places Armenia among the most vulnerable countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Despite the serious humanitarian challenges and external security threats, Armenia takes proactive measures to fulfil our Paris Agreement promises, employing both conventional and innovative solutions that involve all segments of the society.

In 2021, Armenia declared its post-2020 climate actions, an NDC with a 40% greenhouse reduction target by 2030. Recently, we developed long-term low-emission development strategies (LT-LEDS) to guide us towards carbon neutrality.

Our climate ambitions are largely anchored in the carbon-neutral energy transition. By 2030, we aim for a 15% share of solar energy in our total energy production. Armenia firmly believes that the attainment of our climate commitments can be achieved with long-term and sustainable use of nuclear power as a carbon-neutral source of energy and we appreciate the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency in this regard,’’ President Khachaturyan noted.

He added that Armenia is determined to achieving its ambitious targets and securing a clean and sustainable future for the next generation.

“We stand ready to further contribute to global efforts to this end,” concluded President Vahagn Khachaturyan.

 11:23, 2 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has reaffirmed its strong commitment to the non-proliferation agenda during the 28th session of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

“Today the 28th Session of the OPCW Conference of the States Parties was concluded. Armenia’s National Statement emphasized the significant role of the OPCW and reaffirmed Armenia’s strong commitment to non-proliferation agenda,” Armenia’s Permanent Representation to the OPCW said on X.