Author: Jirair Kafian

Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received today Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.

Hassan Rouhani said a number of agreements had been reached during the meeting with President Serzh Sargsyan and viced hope the programs would be implemented in the near future.

PM Karapetyan, said, in turn, that the rich bilateral agenda creates a firm ground for the development and expansion of relations.

The Armenian Prime Minister presented a number of proposals, which, if implemented, will further reinforce the Armenian-Iranian ties and give new impetus to the future cooperation.

In particular, Karen Karapetyan offered to consider the idea of creating a food certification center in Armenia, which will contribute to the facilitation of assessment of compatibility of products and will boost the commodity turnover.

PM Karapetyan attached importance to the expansion of Iranian businessmen’s activity in Armenia, considering the capacities of the  Eurasian Economic Union’s market.

Karen Karapetyan reiterated Armenia’s willingness to contribute to the negotiations between Iran and EEU.

President Rouhani hailed the steps aimed at furthering the Armenian-Iranian cooperation and said Iran would welcome any constructive proposal.

The possible escalation of the Karabakh conflict will not benefit either Armenia or other countries of the region, Armenian’s Defense minister Vigen Sargsyan said in an interview with Lenta.ru. He did not rule out the possibility of resumption of armed conflict with Azerbaijan.

“A trilateral agreement on ceasefire was signed between Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia in 1994. Unfortunately, Baku has been torpedoing the peace process for over 20 years now. Moreover, it has been foiling all attempts of the international community in the face of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to seek ways of conflict settlement. The large-scale military adventure against Nagorno Karabakh Azerbaijan undertook this April was a complete failure. We base our work on the presumption of the possibility of resumption of hostilities,” the Armenian Defense Minister said.

He added that “it’s pretty obvious that the possible escalation of the conflict will not benefit either Armenia or other countries of the region.”

“As the guarantor of security of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Yerevan will have to engage in the conflict. It’s clear that the resumption of war will become a serious threat for the whole South Caucasus,” Vigen Sargsyan said.

Kanye West visited Donald Trump on Tuesday to, according to Trump, talk about “life,” Channel 24 reports.

West stood silently next to the president-elect for photos in the lobby of Trump Tower after their meeting.

When asked why he wasn’t speaking, West simply said, “I just want to take a picture right now.”

Trump said he and West were “just friends” and called the musician a “good man.” He said they discussed “life.”

The two did not answer questions about whether West would perform at the Inauguration.

West was not accompanied by wife Kim Kardashian West.

Last month during a concert in San Jose, California, West said he didn’t vote, but if he had, he would have cast a ballot for Trump. He also praised the president-elect’s “method of communication” as “very futuristic” and spoke about his plans to run for that office in 2020, saying that he will become “a different kind of president.”

Trump also was shown in a video for West’s single Famous, released last year. It also featured Rihanna, former President George W. Bush, Anna Wintour and Bill Cosby.

Qantas will launch the first regular nonstop service between Australia and Great Britain in March 2018, according to the .

The route, from London to the southwestern city of Perth, will cover 9,008 miles. It would be the second-longest flight in the world and the longest by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The approximately 17-hour flight would only be topped in mileage by Qatar Airways’ Doha-Auckland service, which is set to launch in early 2017.

The Perth-London flights will begin in March 2018.

“This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft. Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said. “It’s great news for travelers because it will make it easier to get to London. It’s great news for western Australia because it will bring jobs and tourism. And, it’s great news for the nation, because it will bring us closer to one of our biggest trade partners and sources of visitors.”

The 787-9 Dreamliner that Qantas plans to use for the flight will carry 236 passengers in a three-class configuration of business, premium economy and economy.

Tickets go on sale in April.

Turkish police have detained 118 Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) officials over alleged links to Kurdish militants, state media report, the BBC reports.

They were rounded up on suspicion of belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), reports said

The arrests come two days after twin bomb attacks near a football stadium in Istanbul which killed 44 people.

Meanwhile, Austria says that talks with Turkey over membership of the European Union should be suspended.

Statement by Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia at the Open Government Partnership Summit 2016

Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Armenia thanks the Government of France for its efforts towards advancing the agenda of Open Government Partnership (OGP) and for the extended hospitality. Our appreciation also goes to the civil society Co-Chair – the World Resources Institute. The Summit is an opportunity to galvanize our engagement in OGP initiative promoting fundamental values necessary for the inclusive and sustainable development of our societies.

Between 2011 and 2016, in line with two Action Plans Armenia implemented tangible reforms in major sectors such as the law-making activities, public procurement, access to and freedom of information, healthcare, education, local self-governance, mining industry. Through the implementation of more than 20 commitments targeted actions have been undertaken to meet main OGP challenges on improving public services, ensuring effective management of public resources, promotion of public confidence.

The cutting-edge tools, such as crowdsourcing and co-design were widely used in the drafting process of Armenia’s Open government partnership Third Action Plan (2016-2018). Government officials came together with Civil Society Organizations, experts and private sector partners to discuss and elaborate the suggested action plan commitments.

Most of the declared Summit priorities including on transparency and anti-corruption, sustainable development and climate change are included in our new Action Plan. Armenia joined other states in singing Paris Agreement on climate change. The Government of Armenia provided its final national progress report on the Millennium Development Goals. The roadmap for national implementation the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been drafted. All these processes have been done in an inclusive manner based on multi-stakeholder public discussions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Armenia continues its efforts aimed at consolidating democratic institutions, strengthening the rule of law, national mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights and in this regard sustains strong partnership with the international organizations and initiatives. Last December by the nation-wide referendum Armenia adopted amendments to the Constitution aimed at improving the governance system with increased transparency and accountability. It was followed by the adoption of a new Electoral Code to meet the necessary legal changes in line with the requirements of the amended Constitution. It is noteworthy that both the Constitutional reform and the new Electoral Code have received positive feedbacks from our international partner organizations. To further strengthen the public trust in the election process the Government accepted the proposal coming from the opposition and the discussions on the draft Code were held with the involvement of all parliamentary political factions and civil society representatives.

In Armenia, we have vibrant civil society, which is an indicator of our growing democracy, and an integral part of Armenia’s public life with increasing participation in and contribution to the effective governance. The presence of our Civil Society Organizations among Summit participants, including among members of our OGP National Working Group, is the best illustration for that.

It is noteworthy that at the last global summit of Open Government Partnership, Armenia received a top award and was recognized as a leader in our region for increased efficiency in the activities of its local self-governance authorities and improved public services based on the principles of open governance. Our Civil Society Organizations awarded the Armenian government for advancing freedom of information and joining the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are cognizant that challenges remain. Our new Action Plan is aimed at exploring new tools to directly connect to the society, to mainstream the Open Government Partnership principles in all domains of governance, and to apply human-centered approaches in policymaking. With this in mind, we are looking forward to work hand in hand with all partners to achieve the objectives of Open government partnership.

Thank you.

On 21 November Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received relatives of Artsakh Hero Robert Abajyan who heroically perished during the war unleashed by the enemy in the early April of the current year.

President Sahakyan noted that feat of Robert Abajyan and other heroes had been carved with golden letters in our history embodying the invincible spirit, patriotism and devotion of our people.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 50 million to finance projects promoted by SMEs and MidCap companies in Armenia.

The EIB loan is being provided to the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, which will make the EIB funds available to eligible SMEs and MidCap companies throughout the country via numerous financial intermediaries, including banks and universal credit organisations. The loan is further EU measure to support Armenian businesses and is provided in the context of the EU4 Business initiative.

EIB Vice-President Jan Vapaavuori stated: “EIB funds intermediated through the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, a well-established partner of the EIB, will improve the access of Armenian SMEs and Mid-Caps to long-term finance in local currency on favourable terms. This will contribute to the diversification of the Armenian economy and private-sector development and will have a positive influence on job creation in the country”.

Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia Arthur Javadyan, commented: I am confident that this loan will mimic the success story of its predecessor by its effectiveness and accuracy in targeting the access to finance for SMEs in Armenia.

With this loan the EIB and the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia are continuing their successful co-operation in support of Armenian small and medium-sized businesses. The previous EUR 50 million loan for SMEs,signed in 2014, has already been fully disbursed for eligible projects of Armenian SMEs and Midcaps. The EIB funds provided to the Central Bank of Armenia are currently available to SMEs and Midcaps in Armenia through 16 financial intermediaries. To date, more than 100 projects throughout the country have benefitted from them, in particular in the tourism and agri-food sectors. Under this existing loan, the participating financial intermediaries as well as small and medium businesses had an opportunity to benefit from related technical assistance activities funded by the Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF).

A new kindergarten, now under construction, is the fourth major community-development project to be implemented by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund in Karin Tak, a village in Artsakh’s Shushi Region. In recent years, the fund has built Karin Tak’s multifunctional community center and new potable-water network, and completely renovated the local school gym. The construction of the kindergarten is co-sponsored by the Devejian and Ekserciyan families as well as Krikor Simsiroglu of Argentina, the Greek-Armenian and the Cypriot-Armenian communities, and the government of Artsakh. Proceeds from the upcoming Phoneathon of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s affiliate in Greece will likewise benefit the kindergarten-construction project.

The future kindergarten is designed to accommodate up to 50 children. The facility will feature a complement of state-of-the-art amenities, including a boiler room, a central-heating system, and an outdoor playground with various play equipment, all of which will make for an enriching and comfortable learning environment. The structure is already up and the roof is finished. In the next phases of the project, crews will work on the exterior and interior decoration, the installation of the boiler room, and the landscaping of the grounds. When completed in the summer of 2017, the campus will open its doors to the community’s 40 kindergarteners.

Karin Tak has a population of over 650, with a large percentage of young people. According to Mayor Mkhitar Arushanyan, the necessity of a kindergarten has long been felt in the community, given its steady demographic growth. “Our villagers feel a very strong bond with their native land,” Arushanyan says. “Even during the war years in the 1990s, when the village was under constant bombardment, our residents refused to abandon their birthplace. Today, thanks to a string of marvelous development projects, Karin Tak’s quality of life is improved significantly, and our residents have great faith in their future.”

Located five kilometers from the city of Shushi, Karin Tak was founded in the 18^th century. It is among villages that were utterly devastated during Artsakh’s war of liberation. Every year on January 26, the residents of Karin Tak commemorate their community’s heroic battle and victory in 1992.

“Azerbaijan not only rejects creation of mechanisms for investigation of incidents and expansion of the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO, but also seeks to undermine the only international monitoring mechanism,” NKR Foreign Minitstry said in a statement. The full text is provided below:

On the night of November 10-11, and during the day the Azerbaijani armed forces shelled the frontline positions of the NKR Defense Army near the villages of Talish and Yarimja from 60 and 82 mm mortars. Such massive use of mortars occurring for the first time after a large-scale aggression against Nagorno Karabakh in April, has become the continuation of recent escalation of tension on the Line of Contact by Azerbaijan.

It is of serious concern that the aggravation of the situation takes place against the background of Azerbaijan’s preparation for the large-scale military exercises near the NKR borders, employing a large number of military equipment and manpower.

Such actions are a flagrant violation of agreements reached at summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg on inadmissibility of escalation of tension on the Line of Contact and indicate to the intention of Azerbaijan to impede the measures aimed at creating conditions for the resumption of the negotiation process.

Moreover, Azerbaijan not only rejects creation of mechanisms for investigation of incidents and expansion of the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO, but also seeks to undermine the only international monitoring mechanism to maintain the ceasefire regime by firing an area where the OSCE mission carried out a planned monitoring on the day before.

In this situation, we call on the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the OSCE Chairperson in Office and the international community as a whole to condemn in the strongest terms destructive policy of the Azerbaijani authorities, and to take effective measures to prevent a further escalation of tension.

For its turn, the NKR will suppress any actions of Azerbaijan, threatening the security of the Republic, the peace and stability in the region.