Author: Alex Nanijanian

Baltic News Service / - BNS
 Thursday 12:54 PM EET


Estonian PM after meeting with Armenian colleague says he hopes
relations will strengthen



TALLINN, Jan 25, BNS - Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas after a
meeting with his Armenian counterpart Karen Karapetyan on Wednesday
said that he hopes that the relations between the two countries will
strengthen.

"The meeting with Prime Minister Karapetyan will hopefully create the
basis for new, strengthened relations, which will benefit the people
of both countries," Ratas, who is currently at the World Economic
Forum held in Davos, said on social media.

"Relations with Armenia, a country a third smaller by area compared to
Estonia but with a population nearly twice as high, has become
significantly more substantial thanks to the EU-Armenia partnership
agreement signed in the framework of the European Union Eastern
Partnership summit," the Estonian government leader said.

Karapetyan was quoted by Armenian media as saying that Ratas at the
meeting introduced Estonia's experience in the field of e-governance
and information technology and reaffirmed Estonia's readiness to share
its experience with Armenia. The Armenian government leader said that
his country is interested in Estonia's experience.

The government leaders also spoke about the cooperation between the
European Union and Armenia, and Karapetyan in this regard thanked
Estonia for supporting Armenia, the Armenpress news agency reported.

Karapetyan also introduced the economic reforms underway in the
country and reaffirmed interest toward the investments of Estonian
enterprises.

Iranian Government News
December 21, 2017 Thursday


Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan underline joint interests



Tehran: The official news agency of Iran (IRNA) has issued following news:

Foreign ministers of Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey issued the final
statement of the 5th Trilateral Meeting in Baku on Wednesday,
stressing upholding of their common interests. At the invitation of
Elmar Mammadyarov, minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of
Azerbaijan and with participation of Mohammad Javad Zarif, minister of
foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Mevlut Cavusoglu,
minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Turkey, the Fifth
Trilateral Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs convened in
Baku.



The full text of the statement follows:

The Ministers,

Emphasized their commitment to the Urumieh, Nakhchivan, Van and Ramsar
Statements adopted in the previous Trilateral Meetings of the
Ministers of Foreign Affairs;

Reaffirmed commitment to further enhance solidarity and cooperation
among the peoples of the three countries based on deep-rooted
historical, religious and cultural commonalities and shared values
that will serve to strengthen peace, stability, prosperity and
cooperation in the region;

Underlined their commitment to the further expand cooperation
particularly in the areas that would contribute to economic progress
and sustainable development;

Emphasized their common interest to strengthen peace and stability in
the region and stressed in the context their commitment to principles
of international law, including in particular, respect for
sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of
internationally recognized borders and peaceful settlement of all
disputes;

Reiterated, in this regard, the importance of the earliest resolution
of Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of the
above-mentioned principles;

Agreed to continue close consultations on regional and global issues
of common interest at different levels and platforms and within the
framework of international and regional organizations, such as United
Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Conference on
Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, and the Economic
Cooperation Organization, with a view to enhancing regional and
international peace, security and stability;

Welcomed the declaration and final communiqué adopted at the OIC
Extraordinary Summit on 13 December 2017 in Istanbul, with regard to
Al-Quds Al- Sharif;

Agreed to strengthen economic-trade cooperation, to use the existing
potential for promotion of investments and trade, as well as to
support promotion of cooperation by implementing of the joint projects
and programs in the field of energy, transport, banking,
telecommunication, industry, agriculture, tourism and environment;

Underlining the significant steps taken to increase the transit
potential of the three countries situated on the international transit
corridors and geographically favorably located as well as to integrate
to the international transit system, stressed upon the importance of
further enhancement of cooperation for implementation of the new
projects for development of transport infrastructure and increase of
transit potential;

Underlining the significance of participation of the three countries
in large-scale international transport projects, which are
strategically important for increase of the quantity and quality of
the competitive transit transportation between the Asia and Europe,
for socio-economic development, welcomed the launching of
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway which creates favorable conditions to use
the transit potential of the three countries on 'Eat-West',
'South-West', 'North-South' routes, stressed the importance to take
necessary steps for earliest completion of Rasht-Astara railway;

Underlined the importance of strengthening cooperation in the field of
civil aviation to reach the high potential as well as to further
benefit from the geographical advantages of the three countries;
Expressed their willingness to enhance commercial collaborations in
the petroleum, gas and petrochemical fields;

Agreed to develop and enhance relations among the banking networks of
the three countries and to share experience and information on
international banking procedures as well as on combating
money-laundering and financing terrorism;

Stressed the importance of continued cooperation among three countries
to build and run information infrastructures in order to bridge the
digital divide in the region;

Underlined the importance to cooperate within the framework of global
and regional economic organizations, to attract the attention of these
organizations to the priority spheres, such as trade, transport,
tourism, agriculture, communication, and energy as well as to promote
and support implementation of the projects in the common interest of
the three countries by these institutions;

Emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation to mitigate and
prevent environmental degradation, with a view to attaining the
relevant goals of 2030 sustainable development agenda adopted by the
United Nations in September 2015;

Agreed to positively evaluate the candidatures of three countries in
the international or regional organizations and in this vein, welcomed
the candidature of Baku for hosting Word EXPO-2025 in the Republic of
Azerbaijan;

Condemning all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on
ethnicity, race, religion and belief and underlining the importance of
nurturing tolerance, respect, dialogue and cooperation among different
cultures, civilizations and peoples and emphasized the significance of
the 7th Global Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations of the United
Nations held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 20-25 April 2016;

Underlined the importance to further strengthen cooperation in the
fight against terrorism, separatism and violent extremism in all their
forms and manifestations, transnational organized crimes and elicit
trafficking in narcotic drugs and their precursors, and arms, human
trafficking, crimes against cultural and historical heritage, cyber
crimes, and illegal migration; took note of the UN GA Resolution
A/RES/68/127 entitled 'A Word Against Violence and Violent Extremism
(WAVE)' initiated by the Islamic Republic of Iran; Stressed their
determination not to allow their territories to be used by any people
or group of individuals, under any threat and activity against each
other strongly condemned foreign support to separatism.

Emphasized their commitment to promote and protect human rights at the
national and international level, and declared that the promotion and
protection of the rights of all human begins in the world can better
be achieved through cooperation and dialogue.

Underscored the significance of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA) which reflects the success of the multilateral negotiations
and diplomacy; acknowledged that the successful implementation of
JCPOA requires the complete fulfillment of the stipulated obligations
by all the parties for allowing them to fully enjoy benefits provided
in JCPOA; taking into account the Islamic Republic of Iran’s adherence
to its obligations under JCPOA as confirmed by the International
Atomic Energy Agency which is a part of the Resolution 2231 (2015) of
the UN Security Council recalled the commitment of all the UN members
to contribute the implementation of JCPOA.

Underlined the significant importance of promoting Islamic solidarity
to confront challenges facing the Islamic World and stressed intension
for more active and effective cooperation to strengthen Islamic
fraternity, understanding and tolerance. In this respect noted the
significance of the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games for promotion of
Islamic culture and moral values around the world held in high level
in Baku on 12-22 May 2017.

Stressed on importance to follow up of the decisions taken during the
previous meetings as well as the Trilateral Sectoral Cooperation
Action Plan for 2016-2018.

Reiterated the importance of holding regular meetings in the
trilateral format to continue coordination and cooperation on regional
and global issues agreed to hold the next meeting in Turkey.

ENP Newswire
 Friday


-World Bank Group Launches New Advisory Project in Armenia to Support
Women and Help Reduce Poverty



The World Bank Group is launching a new advisory project in Armenia to
support women engaged in the wild harvest sector, to help increase
productivity, reduce poverty, and spur economic growth.



The three-year Armenia Gender project, implemented by IFC-a sister
organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group-will
help women engage in more productive activities in the sector, and
foster their links with buyers and producers. Wild harvesting is
composed almost entirely of women and provides a vital source of
income for many of Armenia's poorest citizens, especially in remote
areas. However, its productivity is hampered by challenges including a
poorly developed value chain, with low turnover and profits.

Lilit Asatryan, Chairwoman of the Armenian Young Women's Association,
said: 'Developing the wild harvesting sector's value chain has real
potential to improve the lives of many in Armenia's remote areas. For
that to happen, the currently disjointed system needs to be improved
and made more efficient, with standardized collecting procedures, and
close links to buyers and markets.'

The project will work with the Armenian Young Women's Association to
improve entrepreneurs' skills and enhance value-chain participation
through business education, mentoring, and networking activities. The
project will also provide advice to the Ministry of Agriculture to
improve the regulatory environment. To ensure the efficient
implementation of regulatory reforms and women's involvement in the
decision-making process, the project will foster coordination among
key stakeholders, including women's business associations, buyers,
industry networks, and the government.

'Women's employment is vital to driving economic development, so
supporting women's participation in the labor market is a 'win-win'
for Armenia,' said Jan van Bilsen, IFC Regional Manager for the South
Caucasus. 'This new project aims to help women employed in this sector
reach new markets, by working with key stakeholders to remove
obstacles and adopting regulations that will help develop the sector.'

The Armenia Gender project is funded by Austria's Federal Ministry of
Finance and the World Bank's multi-donor Umbrella Facility for Gender
Equality.

Armenia became an IFC member in 1995. Since then, IFC has provided
over $ 480 million, including nearly $ 118 million mobilized from
other lenders, to finance 49 projects across a range of sectors,
including financial markets, manufacturing, agribusiness, services,
and mining. In addition, IFC has also supported trade transactions
worth more than $ 130 million through its trade finance program, and
implemented advisory projects focused on private sector development.

About the World Bank Group

The World Bank Group is one of the world's largest sources of funding
and knowledge for developing countries. It comprises five closely
associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association
(IDA), which together form the World Bank; the International Finance
Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
(MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment
Disputes (ICSID). Each institution plays a distinct role in the
mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in
the developing world. For more information, please visit
www.worldbank.org, www.miga.org, and www.ifc.org.

Please find the attached press release of the Ministry of Diaspora.

Sincerely,
Media and PR Department
(+374 10) 585601, internal 805

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Հարգանքով`
Մամուլի և հասարակայնության հետ կապերի վարչություն

(+374 10) 585601, ներքին 805

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