Author: Kajoyan Gevork

 – Thousands of people attended the festival Buenos Aires Celebrates Armenia organized by the government of the City of Buenos Aires and the Armenian community in Argentina, with shows that included Armenian dances and music, food stands and artistic and cultural events.

The singer Grigor Mirzoyan was the main attraction of the show, which was then accompanied by the Argentine-Armenian band Nor Arax, the violinist Aida Simonian and singers Valeria Cherekian and Arman Gasparyan. The Armenian folk dances groups Nairi, Masis, Kaiane and Narek interpreted the songs with traditional Armenian dances.

The event in an outdoor park was attended by the Secretary for Human Rights and Cultural Pluralism of the Nation Claudio Avruj, President of National Bank Carlos Melconian, Archbishop Kissag Mouradian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church for Argentina and Chile and the Consul of Armenia in Argentina, Ester Mkrtumyanalong with officials, leaders of the Armenian community in the country, scout groups and representatives of the community schools.

The “Buenos Aires Celebrates” program was created in 2009 to organize thematic festivals of all communities of Argentina.

President Serzh Sargsyan, who is at the United States on a working visit, on October 10 in New York, participated at the “Armenia: Investment Forum-2016.” At the first plenary meeting of the Forum, which held under the title “Armenia – a Gateway to Big Markets”, the President of Armenia made a statement, speaking about Armenia’s current economic and political priorities, achievements after twenty-five years of independence, about competitive advantages of the country and investment opportunities, large-scale reforms, favorable business climate, easy access through Armenia to the markets of the region and stable macroeconomic environment. The President suggested the investors to use opportunities provided by Armenia as a gateway to the major market of the region. Serzh Sargsyan also responded to the questions from the participants of the Forum.

The Forum organized by Armenia’s Development Fund is attended by the leading companies from different areas, representatives of international financial institutions, experts and over one hundred international investors. The plenary session was chaired by the founder of the Kohn Foundation, international corporative strategist, investment banker and famous public figure, Doctor of Neuroscience Mr. Robert Kohn. Present at the discussions were the Member of the House of Representatives Frank Pallone, Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Union Tigran Sarkissian, Vice-President of the Asian Bank of Development Wencai Zhang, Executive Director of the World Bank Frank Heemskerk.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Government of Armenia and National Instruments Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

Remarks by the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan at the Armenia Investment Forum

Dear Chairman Kuhn,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to greet you all at this landmark event, which comes at a symbolic time for Armenia and Armenians around the globe. Having summed up 25 years of independence, Armenian nation continues to pave its way towards future. The past two and half decades have been challenging, yet equally rewarding. After 25 years of independence we look into the future with confidence, determined to build upon our achievements that we have attained through the hard work of our people and with the help of our friends and partners.

It is no coincidence that Armenia as a gateway to major markets has been selected as a heading for this event: Armenia’s role as such had been determined at the time primordial, outlined by the history and geography of our land and the identity of its people. Situated at the crossroads between continents, Armenia has always bridged various civilizations, thus becoming a very important center for the cultural and trade exchanges. True to its role and given its historic experience, modern Armenia adheres to a strategy designed to build bridges among its major trading, economic and political partners.

As any other country, Armenia has its own comparative advantages. Interestingly enough our comparative advantages as an economy to a certain extent grew out of our limited resources and disadvantageous geopolitical realities. A landlocked country with a small-size economy that had been inherently Soviet-styled, with no energy resources, and blockade imposed by some of our neighbors, we never surrendered to those impediments. Quite to the contrary, we took advantage of those to push the boundaries of our creativity and competitiveness. Thus, human capital has become the source our main wealth, efficiency has become our master tool and reconciling often opposing interests has become our lifestyle.

Although the financial crises did not pass by Armenia, we made significant strides in building a knowledge-based society and the constant drive to embrace cutting-edge innovation have placed our country of just 3 million among technologically advanced nations. Notwithstanding the financial resources available to it, almost every single Armenian family strives to heavily invest in the education of their children. It is quite natural that for many years now our schoolchildren at the World Subject Olympiads win over 20 awards.

Today we are leading the list of the ranks by countries for the young students per capita wining world prizes in mathematical Olympics. In the same vein, we have the highest number of Chess grand masters on per-capita basis. Incidentally, Armenia was the first country in the world that introduced chess in the school curriculum in order to promote strategic thinking among new generation.

Another interesting example to that effect is the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies that provides secondary and high school students with an opportunity to convert their ideas into IT solutions and products.
Luys Foundation was established upon our initiative back in 2009; since then it has provided with scholarships Armenian students around the globe to attend and study at the top-notch universities in order to make sure that Armenia keeps up with the developments of our times.

Today, the availability of qualified workforce and a highly developed human capital brought fame to Armenia among those who seek accessible innovative IT solutions. We are becoming a desired destination for carrying out R&D and complex projects, as well as undertake the design and production of high value added, sophisticated products.

To give more momentum to the development of Information and Communication Technologies we provide tax privileges to the start-ups exempting them from profit tax and levying only 10% tax on income. As a result in recent years we have seen 25% average increase in the field of ICT.

Other than IT, Armenia has also been successful in the area such as medical and especially dental tourism, providing best money for quality services.

Year in and year out we have been developing our capacity for providing high-quality education, which also create opportunities for foreign students to study in our country. A great example to that effect is the Dilijan International School, which makes part of the United World Colleges education network. It received students from about 60 countries, and some of them are from the most advanced ones.

In the course of the past 25 years we have implemented cardinal reforms that improved Armenia’s performance in the international rankings: according to the World Bank estimates, among 189 countries Armenia ranks 35th on the ease of doing business, 5th on starting business, and 29th on trading across border. Today Armenia stands out for excellent investment opportunities due to its liberal business culture, favorable business environment and an unswerving commitment to the ongoing reforms.

Today, our geographic location and political and economic arrangements with partner nations enable Armenia’s easy access and trade with markets of more than 300 million consumers, where many Armenian goods and services have already established brand value. As a member to the Eurasian Economic Union, we have customs-free access to more than 180 million consumers. A common border and visa free regime with the Islamic Republic of Iran open up a market of 80 million consumers. Historically friendly relations with Georgia give us access to the Black Sea ports as well as safeguard Armenia’s trade turnover with Russian Federation, other EEU countries and the European Union.

The forthcoming opening of the major infrastructure projects such as North-South highway corridor will make Armenia the shortest transit route connecting Persian Gulf to the Black Sea ports. Besides that, shared values with the EU have opened up privileged trade opportunities for Armenia with the EU as a part of the GSP+ arrangement.

China increasingly becomes more engaged in the Armenian market with new economic prospects, also through the project of the Silk Road Economic Belt. Besides that, we enjoy historically close relations with various Middle Eastern countries with whom our trade volumes have been growing consistently over the past few years.

I would like to especially underline the advantage we enjoy due to the presence of the large Armenian Diaspora around the globe. Due to these fellow Armenians we have been recognized widely at the markets of the countries that are important for us, and we have been able to quickly get acquainted with the internal dynamics of the targeted markets and establish contacts with their business circles. In the same vein, through the diaspora we are able to spread the word on the economic attractiveness of Armenia to the foreign investors. Since the independence was attained numerous entrepreneurs from Diaspora have made significant investments in Armenia; they also have established enterprises through which they contributed to the economic growth of ours and instilled best business practices in Armenia.

Distinguished Colleagues,

Armenia provides stable macro environment, which is the major precondition for businesses in seeking stability for their investments. Recent developments in the region and in CIS countries, with skyrocket currency depreciations, attest to Armenia’s capacity to cope with external negative shocks while keeping macro-environment stable and predictable. Armenian government and Central Bank effectively anchor public expectations allowing Armenian dram to depreciate in line with the path of economic fundamentals. Looking to the future Armenia will strongly continue to follow the golden rule of maintaining macro stability through the application of effective fiscal and monetary policies.

We most certainly are committed to further enhancing the business climate of the country. Our utmost priority is the introduction of a digital governance to provide for the services in line with the requirements of our people and business circles appropriate for the 21st century. For instance, nowadays everyone can track all treasury expenditures in real time, submit inquires and questions to our public service and follow up on the status of their applications online, to receive licenses and other state service electronically.

A lot more is envisaged to make business environment in Armenia highly efficient, especially with significantly improved customs and tax services. A week ago Armenia’s parliament adopted a new tax code that provides for a number of benefits to business and investors in Armenia. We have simplified the procedures followed by our tax administration bodies, thus making the tax monitoring processes much more business friendly.

Recently, we’ve committed ourselves to making our business environment much more stable and predictable through the application of judicial reforms and a commitment to strong principles of investment protection. These principles are in fact embedded in the Constitutional reform we have adopted in 2015. This reform will result in the soon to follow transition from the semi-presidential mode of governance to the parliamentary one. That initiative was also conditioned by the economic considerations since the parliamentary mode of governance, in our view, will be more effective for our country, also in the economic terms.

The new cabinet, which was formed just a few days ago, was been mandated to take bold steps to further enhance legal and institutional reforms, making the investment environment of Armenia much more attractive for both local and foreign investors. To this end we have reformed the Ministry of Economy into the Ministry for Economic Development and Investments in order to provide the entrepreneurs interested in investing in Armenia with a political platform to raise the issues they face and find solutions to those issues. Furthermore, we have empowered the Development Foundation of Armenia, which acts as an implementation agency, to assist foreign investors in all matters.

We see the engagement of international investors as an essential component to boost Armenia’s economy. Therefore, we commit ourselves to tailoring legislative solutions for global actors, who would wish to partner with us in making our vision of Armenia as one of the most efficient, secure and profitable opening to the major markets in the region to come true.

We look forward to seeting you all in Armenia.

I thank you very much for your attention, and I would be happy to take your questions if you have any.

Turkey has ordered the closure of 20 television and radio stations, including one that airs children’s programmes, on charges they spread “terrorist propaganda”, adding to fears that emergency rule is being used to stifle the media, Reuters reports.

President Tayyip Erdogan has said he wants a three-month state of emergency, imposed after a failed coup attempt in July, to be prolonged past October so authorities can eradicate the threat posed by a religious movement blamed for the attempt, as well as Kurdish militants who have waged a 32-year insurgency.

The banned channels are owned or operated by Kurds or the Alevi religious minority, according to Hamza Aktan, news editor at IMC TV, a news broadcaster slated for closure. He cited a copy of the decision obtained by his channel, which was based on powers given the government in a decree issued in July.

“This has nothing to do with the coup. It is an effort to silence the last independent media covering the Kurdish issue and violations committed by the state,” Aktan told Reuters.

IMC has aired reports looking at security forces’ conduct during 14 months of military operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has killed thousands.

Among the 12 shuttered television channels are Govend TV, which plays folk music, and Zarok TV, which airs Kurdish-language children’s cartoons. The decision also shut 11 radio stations for harming national security, Aktan said.

“Turkey is targeting a wide swath of cultural and political expression by shuttering minority broadcasters,” Robert Mahoney of the Committee to Protect Journalists said. “When the government sees even children’s programming as a threat to national security, it is clearly abusing its emergency powers.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has hailed Manchester United’s capture of the ‘dangerous’ Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the Daily Star reports.

Wenger reckons Mkhitaryan is one of the most exciting new additions to the Premier League.

He said: “Mkhitaryan has always been a very good midfielder but last year was the first year where he scored goals.

“I think he scored 10 goals in the Bundesliga so that of course makes him more dangerous.

“He will bring something to Man United.”

United boss Jose Mourinho signed the 27-year-old Armenian from Borussia Dortmund for around £27m in July.

Mkhitaryan scored 23 times in 51 Dortmund appearances last term and was in high demand at the start of the summer.

Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection in New England hosted its annual summer festival Sunday, according to ,

The Stanley Street parish hosted hundreds of people, many of whom share family ties, according to the church’s pastor, Kapriel Mouradjian.

“A lot of people here are related to one and other,” he explained. “It’s like two degrees of separation.”

Local families were joined by fellow Armenians from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. In a few weeks, many of them will head to Springfield, Mass., where St. Mark Armenian Church will be hosting its annual picnic.

Members of the New Britain church spent over a week preparing food for Sunday’s event, expecting to serve over 400 meals. On the menu were lamb kebab, shish kebab, rice pilaf, tabouleh and a khema sandwich, filled with spiced minced meat.

“We make a lot of money for the church today,” said Violet Terdjanian, one of the cooks. “We work a few hours and then we eat. It’s nice to see people come and enjoy.”

The event has been happening since the church building was consecrated in 1982. Before that, the church was on Erwin Place and the festival was held at Falcon Field.

 

In October, the parish is hosting another celebration, in honor of its 75th anniversary.

Five policemen are still being held hostage after gunmen attacked premises of a police regiment in Armenia’s capital Yerevan Sunday, Deputy Chief of RA Police Hunan Poghostyan told reporters today.

Two hostages – one policeman and one civilian – were released as a result of negotiations earlier today.

Hunan Poghosyan said nothing has changed in terms of demands on both parties. “We demand to release all hostages to avoid further aggravation of the situation and surrender to the authorities.

The Deputy Chief of Police said negotiations continue.

The Archaeological Site of Ani has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

This site is located on a secluded plateau of northeast Turkey overlooking a ravine that forms a natural border with Armenia. This medieval city combines residential, religious and military structures, characteristic of a medieval urbanism built up over the centuries by Christian and then Muslim dynasties.

The city flourished in the 10^th and 11^th centuries CE when it became the capital of the medieval Armenian kingdom of the Bagratides and profited from control of one branch of the Silk Road. Later, under Byzantine, Seljuk, and Georgian sovereignty, it maintained its status as an important crossroads for merchant caravans.

The Mongol invasion and a devastating earthquake in 1319 marked the beginning of the city’s decline. The site presents a comprehensive overview of the evolution of medieval architecture through examples of almost all the different architectural innovations of the region between the 7^th and 13^thcenturies CE.

Manchester United new boy Henrikh Mkhitaryan is the kind of player all defenders hate to play against,  his former international coach Tom Jones said in an interview with 

Jones first spotted a raw teenager appearing in Armenia’s Under-21s against their counterparts from Liechtenstein back in 2006. The 17-year-old caught the coach’s eye in Yerevan and has never looked back since, earning a dream move to Old Trafford this summer to become part of Jose Mourinho’s new-look United side.

In the mid-2000s, Jones was assisting Armenia manager Ian Porterfield, Sunderland’s 1973 FA Cup final hero, after a stint in South Korea. The coach took over as interim boss when Porterfield sadly lost his battle with cancer and, in his six games in charge, helped engender a change in mindset that has benefited an attacking spark like Mkhitaryan.

Clearly, his first impression of the young FC Pyunik prospect was a positive one. “I was with the main national side but the first time I saw Henrikh was when he was playing for the Under-21s,” Jones told ManUtd.com. “I was there sitting with Vardan [Minasyan], who was a coach with the national team and ended up taking over when I left.

“I said: ‘He’s too good to be playing in that team. Get him in the full squad.’ From that time, he just joined the full squad and was regularly part of the training.”

Porterfield acted on the recommendation and handed Mkhitaryan his senior international debut as a substitute against Andorra. The youngster handled the step up in his stride, helped by the fact he was playing his club football with Pyunik. “I quickly found out most of the players, around 80 per cent, came from that one big team,” said Jones. “That included the Under-21s as well. A lot of players knew each other and were comfortable with each other.”

Jones and Porterfield found Mkhitaryan to be a charming individual, one who seemed at home among older colleagues. “He was a great lad,” recalled Jones. “Really, really polite and well spoken. The good thing as well, from my point of view, was his English was very good. His mother was involved with the Armenian FA.”

Yet it was on the pitch where Henrikh’s personality really came out, showing a fearlessness and precocious attitude to the game.

“He is one of them – a glider,” said Jones. “When he’s got the ball at his feet, he just runs at people and simply creates so many problems for defenders because his first thought is to get at them. People don’t like that, of course, and, when they start coming and stepping out, he is sliding balls in between them. He is very clever like that – he could make a goal and score a goal.

“I always liked him to play just behind the front two. If you play two up top there, he was the one who could join in. That’s why he’s scored goals and why I said the boy can make a goal and score a goal. He’s got both sides of the game in him and that’s because he is fearless. He gets at people, runs at people and defenders hate that.

“They can’t touch him and it’s what he did very well. I also watched him play for Pyunik a few times, in different games when I was out there. But even when you see him in training, he’s an unbelievable talent.”

Mkhitaryan will be a key figure for Armenia when they embark on a qualifying group that includes Romania, Denmark and Poland as they bid to reach the next World Cup finals in Russia. A bolder approach has aided the national team’s cause and Jones feels he had a big role to play in instilling more confidence into the side.

“They’ve never qualified for a major tournament but, if you look at some of their results, they can always turn you over,” he said. “Vardan was frightened we were going to become too open but I managed to convince Ian, as he was a bit more defensive, that we were not going to get beaten heavily.

“Ian showed me a few DVDs and I just didn’t see the opposition goalkeeper because we were camped in our own half on damage limitation. I changed that mentality and just said: ‘Let’s press up the pitch and stop them playing’. It worked wonders for us and everybody could see the benefits and a change in that mindset from that day.”

The only question mark will be whether Mhkitaryan can deal with the demands of playing for one of the world’s biggest clubs but Jones believes this won’t be a problem for the 27-year-old. “I’m sure Henrikh was already an idol in Armenia when playing for Borussia Dortmund,” he reasoned. “To go to a club like United is a different level again for a player from such a small country but I think he will cope.

“He has already stepped up from Armenia to Dortmund and I think Liverpool tried to sign him a number of years ago as well. I mentioned him to quite a few managers when I came back to England, including Phil Parkinson when he was at Hull City. It was just a matter of whether they could get international clearance. Once that opened up, I think that was the stepping stone for Henrikh to go to Germany and he has never looked back.”

Jones is still coaching – he is currently with non-league team Chippenham Town and is eagerly anticipating the new season. “Chippenham are a very progressive club,” he stated. “We want to get in the Conference South. The chairman has got good ambitions and we’ll be ready to have a right go at it this year.”

Although he’ll be busy with his own side, the former Swindon Town midfielder will also be keeping a close eye on how Mkhitaryan fares at Old Trafford in 2016/17. “The boy is a hell of a talent,” he insisted, and we are all looking forward to seeing him in the red shirt.”

Turkey says Pope Francis’ description of the WW1 mass killing of Armenians as genocide shows “the mentality of the Crusades,” the BBC reports.

The pontiff’s remarks have “no relation to reality”, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said.

Pope Francis’ reference to the Armenian mass killing as “genocide” is a “political statement” that reflects a crusader mentality, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said, according to state broadcaster TRT.

Pope Francis made the comments on Friday during a visit to he Armenian capital, Yerevan.

“This tragedy, this genocide, has unfortunately marked the start of a sad series of great catastrophes of the last century,” he said.

But Mr Canikli hit back late on Saturday, describing the remarks as “unfortunate”.

“It is possible to see all the hallmarks or reflections of the mentality of the Crusades in the Pope’s activities,” he said, quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency, referring to military campaigns in Medieval times promoted by the papacy against Muslims in the Middle East.

Pope Francis also used the phrase last year, prompting Turkey to recall its envoy to the Vatican for 10 months.