Author: Nyrie Kalashian

New Delhi: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Electric Networks of Armenia Closed Joint-Stock Company (ENA) have signed a $20 million loan for a working capital support facility to ensure vital supplies of energy as the country manages the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

ENA has sole responsibility for operating and maintaining Armenia’s entire energy distribution network, providing services to more than 1 million customers. The assistance will strengthen ENA’s liquidity, enabling it to maintain sustainable and high-quality service delivery during the pandemic. All households and businesses across Armenia will benefit from the uninterrupted supply of electricity to cities.

The loan agreement was signed by Director of Infrastructure Finance, South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia at ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Shantanu Chakraborty, and ENA General Director Karen Harutyunyan.

“Ensuring the supply of electricity will enable economic activity across the country and enhance the ability of Armenian cities to sustain an effective response to the pandemic,” said Mr. Chakraborty. “ADB has a strong relationship with ENA and we are happy to provide this support. We believe it will set a precedent for further private sector interventions to help reduce the economic impact of the crisis.”

“We’re now facing the greatest challenge of our time. The COVID-19 pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is also a devastating social and economic problem,” said Mr. Harutyunyan. “We are so grateful to ADB and all our partners for their commitment and great assistance in this difficult period.”

ENA is owned by Tashir Capital Closed Joint-Stock Company and by Liormand Holdings Limited. The Tashir group is one of the largest diversified industrial and construction companies operating across several industrial sectors in the Russian Federation. In 2017, ADB approved an $80 million loan to ENA to help improve electricity distribution and increase energy independence and efficiency.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

 10:09, 1 June, 2020

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. During today’s session of the Armenian Parliament the ruling My Step faction took a 20-minute break before the voting of bills, faction head Lilit Makunts said.

Several bills will be put up to voting today, including the package of bills on making changes and amendments to the Law on Police and the Law on Police Service which proposes to create a new patrol service.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 14:42,

YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hopes that the cooperation sectors mentioned in the document on “2025 Strategic Directions of the Eurasian Integration Development” will contribute to raising the investment and innovative attractiveness of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), increasing its competitiveness and scientific, productive potential, the PM said during a video conference of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.

In this context he touched upon the necessity of the formation of a single gas market in the EAEU. “Today, in the context of the global economic challenges facing us, the necessity of forming a single gas market is especially vital for Armenia. As I have stated for many times, the single energy market operating on non-discriminatory principles must become one of the bases of our integration. Without it it’s impossible to achieve qualitative progress in the integration processes. Without it it’s impossible to ensure equal conditions for the economic activity for all member states of the Union. We believe that the principles on applying common pricing approaches in the EAEU single gas market, as well as the united tariffs for gas transportation and transit services by a company having a national monopoly must be enshrined in the 2025 Strategic Directions of the Eurasian Integration Development”, Pashinyan said.

According to him, the EAEU should strive to achieve this goal step by step, which in turn will create favorable conditions for a deeper qualitative economic integration within the Union.

“Dear colleagues, summing up my speech, I want to use this occasion and once again congratulate all of us on the 75^th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Our people sacredly respect this day, and we do everything for the generations to remember the heroic deeds of our fathers and grandfathers”, the Armenian PM said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 20:02,

YEREVAN, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS. In the process of the implementation of judicial vetting, Justice Minster of Armenia Rustam Badasyan attaches more importance to who will enter the judicial system, rather than who will leave it. For that reason the judicial system is becoming more attractive for good judges, ARMENPRESS reports Badasyan said during a discussion with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

Nikol Pashinyan noted that he has the impression that the Government has not illustrated the judicial reforms to a sufficient extent and that is why many people think that the Government promised vetting but forgot the promise.

In response, Justice Minister Rustam Bdasyan said, ‘’I think it’s more important to think of who will enter the judicial system, rather than who will leave it’’.

The Minister noted the judicial system remains out of interest of really good specialists. According to him, in the last 2 years only 30 people study at the Academy of Justice, which means that there are 30 candidates for the position of judges, which is extremely low number. ‘’This is another proof of the fact that the judicial system is not interesting for many good specialists, which signals that serious changes should be carried out. I think the 1^st condition is the adequate salary’’, the Minister said. He added that the Judicial Department introduced a gradual system of increasing the remuneration of judges with medium-term expenditure programs, which means that if the Government approves it, the salary of judges will increase by 50% in 2020, 60% in 2021 and 70% in 2022.

‘’Currently, the salary of a judge of the Court of First Instance is about 661 thousand drams, the judge of the Court of Appeal – 727 thousand drams, the judge of Cassation Court – 760 thousand drams. If the salary increase in 2020 takes place, the salary will be 991 thousand drams, in 2021 – 1 million 57 thousand, in 2022 – 1 million 123 thousand drams’’, the Minister said.

PM Pahsinyan noted that the increase of the salary of salaries is 1^st of all done for the benefit of the citizens, who often write to the PM or Minister  that the decision of the court was not fair. ‘’It’s clear that it’s also done for the judges, but 1^st of all it’s done for making the job of the judge so attractive that the top level specialists get involved in the system’’, PM Pashinyan said.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan, Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

 13:18,

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. The number of novel coronavirus cases in Russia has grown over the past day by 4,774 to 62,773 in all regions, TASS reports citing the anti-coronavirus crisis center.

Some 4,891 patients have recovered and 555 others have died.

“Russia has registered a rise in coronavirus infection cases to 62,773 (+8.2%) in 85 regions. Some 471 people have recovered over the past day and 4,891 over the entire period. Over the past day, 42 coronavirus patients have died. The total death toll in Russia has reached 555”, the crisis center reported today.

Some 47.8% of new coronavirus patients (2,282) confirmed in Russia over the past 24 hours have no symptoms.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global pandemic and named the virus COVID-19. 

According to the data of the World Health Organization, coronavirus cases have been confirmed in more than 210 countries and territories.