Author: David Nargizian

 16:40,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan says that during his recent visit to India a number of agreements were reached to boost the cooperation in employment and social protection sector.

During a press conference in Armenpress today, the minister said this is the first experience of such a level of dialogue.

“India is a very important country for Armenia in the context of mutli-sectoral cooperation. In this respect I would like to note that the visit was quite productive and was full of agreements reached. Working groups have already been formed to deal with the implementation of these agreements”, he said.

He particularly highlighted the meeting with the executives of Skill India large state corporation. The corporation is cooperating with different business associations, major companies and is engaged in development of human skills, trainings. It also has active relations with educational institutions, business organizations, clarifies priority areas and what kind of specialists are needed. It trains 60 million people annually. Minister Mkrtchyan informed that a memorandum has been signed with the corporation’s leadership on introducing such an institute in Armenia.

“India’s experience in training a large number of people, making them competitive in the labor market is very important for us. Today we re-assess our employment programs in order to make them more targeted. And studying the successful international experience is very important here. India has quite a successful experience in this respect. If we manage to introduce such a system in Armenia, we will be able to offer new paths for development of skills to our citizens”, the minister said.

Mkrtchyan informed that he had a productive meeting also with the Indian Minister of Labor, Employment and Environment, and they agreed to sign agreements in a number of directions. A working group has already been formed to deal with pushing forward these activities. “We will start these activities next week. One of the directions relates to the discussions over an organized labor migration. As you know, a labor force from India is attracted to Armenia’s different areas. We are planning to put this movement on legal relations, provide legal consulting, formalize everything that is informal and give an opportunity for training”, he said.

The next direction, he said, is the field of social protection and working relations, which is again developed in India. Narek Mkrtchyan said India is among those unique countries that granted people working remotely a status by including them in the social protection system. “This is also important for Armenia. A process of exchange of experience will start in this direction”, he added.

 16:20, 1 April, 2022

YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. A regular sitting of the Security Council under the chairmanship of President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan was held in an expanded format, the Presidential Office said.
In his opening remarks, the President of Artsakh first and foremost noted that the frequent holding of Security Council sittings recently is conditioned by the military-political situation in the republic, especially by the developments in the eastern part of Artsakh.

Touching upon the carried out actions and future plans, President Harutyunyan expressed his appreciation to the Defense Army, other power structures and the volunteers, who managed to fulfill the set tasks in a short period of time, suspending the enemy's advance.

“We understand that their goal was to capture the whole of Karaglukh. We should state that the main height of Karaglukh, the highest point, is under our control, but as of today some important hills are under the control of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Our goal is to withdraw the Azerbaijanis to their original positions. Our demand and request to the peacekeeping troops was that the status quo stemming from the trilateral statement should be restored. We will never change this claim," President Harutyunyan said.

Arayik Harutyunyan expressed confidence that the purpose of the provocation fomented by Azerbaijan was first of all aimed at discrediting the role of the Russian peacekeeping forces.

"We consider that the Russian peacekeeping forces continue to carry out their mission, notwithstanding that episode," A. Harutyunyan said.

However, the Artsakh Republic President stressed that vigilance should be maintained at a high level until it is clear that Azerbaijan will not resort to such provocations again.

"For that very reason, we will take radical and decisive steps in terms of our self-defense in the future," President Harutyunyan said.

Minister of Defense Kamo Vardanyan delivered a report on the current operative-tactical situation on the line of contact.

During the discussion of the issues on the agenda, President Harutyunyan gave a number of instructions to the responsible officials of the relevant structures.

 16:15,

YEREVAN, MARCH 21, ARMENPRESS. All rights of the Armenians of Artsakh and the issue of the status of Nagorno Karabakh are principled and key matters for Armenia, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told lawmakers during the parliamentary foreign affairs committee session on the government’s 2021 report of its 2021-2026 action plan.

Opposition Hayastan faction MP Armen Rustamyan asked if the FM can clearly announce that Armenia entered negotiations to rule out Artsakh’s status within Azerbaijan, to rule out an enclave status of Artsakh and to restore Armenia’s commitment to be the guarantor of the right to self determination of the people of Artsakh.

FM Mirzoyan answered by saying that the ruling Civil Contract party issued its views on these questions, and these views are anchored on the goals of building peace in the region and ensuring stable development.

According to the FM, the campaign programs of Civil Contract received sufficient public support in order for Civil Contract to form the government and implement their programs.

“The outline of our government is to build peace in the region. Certainly a most important part of this is the re-launch of peace talks around Nagorno Karabakh, the negotiation and subsequent signing of a comprehensive peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The matters of the rights of Armenians of Artsakh and the status of Nagorno Karabakh are principled and key issues for us,” Mirzoyan said.

Speaking on a different question regarding the connections, demarcation and delimitation, Mirzoyan said there is a common understanding that in case of unblocking the roads will be under the sovereignty and legislation of the countries through the territory of which they pass.

As a result of the November 26, 2021 meeting between the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani leaders in Sochi, as well as the December 15 Brussels meeting between the Armenian, Azerbaijani and European Council leaders an agreement was reached to restore the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordbubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway, Mirzoyan said. “And now works are underway to stipulate these agreements de jure,” he added.

“I wouldn’t be mistaken to say that now there is a common perception that all roads, railways that will be unblocked, all transport infrastructures must function under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass,” Mirzoyan said.

 16:27,

YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Italy exchanged messages on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Italian Republic, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

In his message Ararat Mirzoyan, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia, particularly emphasized the fact that the Armenian-Italian cooperation is characterized by a high-level political dialogue. He commended the growing bilateral trade turnover, as well as the volume of Italian investments in Armenia. Minister Mirzoyan expressed determination in bringing bilateral economic relations to the level of political dialogue.

Congratulating the Armenian counterpart, Luigi Di Mayo, the Foreign Minister of Italy, in his turn noted that since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the Armenian-Italian friendly relations and political dialogue have been developing and strengthening, as evidenced by the high-level reciprocal visits. He added that the friendly relations between Armenia and Italy establish stable trade-economic and cultural ties, which are complemented by the existing cooperation in various spheres.