Category: 2018

Export declines by 5%, import grows by 12% as compared with same span of 2017: Finance Ministry sums up the year

Lara Chatinian
Aysor, Armenia
Dec 20 2018

The economic activity index for November 2018 made 3.6% against 2017 November, Armenia’s Finance Ministry reports summing up the initial data provided by the Statistical Service of Armenia.

The major share of the growth comes to service sector – 17,2%, trade turnover sector – 5,3%, industry sector – 1,1% and construction sector – 0,2%. In the sphere of agriculture negative index has been registered -8,3%.

As compared with the same span of the past year the volume of trade turnover made 6,9% of which -5% is the export and 12,5% import.

With the results of first 11 months of 2018 the economic activity made 5,7% against the same span of 2017. 

As compared with the same span of the past year, the trade turnover has grown by 19,1% – 9,8% export growth and 24,2% import growth have been registered.

Azerbaijan’s partial replacement of troops with border guards likely indicates de-escalatory posture towards Armenia, reducing war risks

Jhanna Virabian
IHS Jane's 360
Dec 20 2018


Alex Melikishvili – Jane's Intelligence Weekly
  • While the Border Guards commander claims that the order reflects their high standard of combat-readiness, IHS Markit assesses that Aliyev's move is likely based on the calculus that, after winning Armenia's recent early general election by a landslide, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has a sufficiently broad mandate to negotiate a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.
  • It represents the most significant de-escalatory measure since the hostilities broke out in April 2016, very likely intended to obtain reciprocal confidence-building measures from Armenia.
  • A reduced frequency of ceasefire violations and the removal of heavy weapons back from the Line of Contact and the border will be among further indicators to be monitored.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has ordered that the regular troops deployed on two sections of the state border with Armenia be replaced with border guard personnel.

On 14 December 2018, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree replacing the regular troops deployed along two sections of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border (in Qazakh and Agstafa districts) with border guard units. The commander of the State Border Guard Service, Colonel-General Elcin Guliyev, later commented that this decision was due to the border guards having achieved a high combat readiness level and earning the President's trust in the process. Prior to this, the Azeri border guards only defended the state frontiers with Iran and Russia, which both have friendly relations with Azerbaijan.

President Aliyev's decision comes against the backdrop of other developments that indicate a moderate improvement in Azeri-Armenian relations. Chief among them is the informal agreement between the two leaders reached on the sidelines of the CIS summit in Dushanbe in September 2018, setting up a direct hotline to mitigate the escalatory risk of incidents at the front line. On 6 November, while Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defence denied that there is any direct communication channel with its Armenian counterpart, it admitted that a designated official from another state agency had been made responsible for manning the phone line.

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Vigen Sargsyan urges Pashinyan stop being opposition figure and turn into leader, head of country

Emil Lazarian
Aysor, Armenia
Dec 20 2018

Armenia’s acting PM has two complicated issues to solve, Republican party first vice chairman Vigen Sargsyan wrote in Facebook.

“First: Pashinyan must become the country’s leader and head and stop being an opposition figure voicing different speeches,” he wrote, stating that he is to form an acting responsible team from those who did nothing but criticized the former authorities.

“As head of the team he will be directly and personally responsible for the mistakes, shortcomings, crimes, inattentive phrases, self-initiated meetings, personal qualities,” he wrote, adding that Pashinyan will have to find the sensitive balance to back his teammate on one hand and not to become prisoner of the intervention himself, on the other.

As to the accusations voiced against former authorities, Sargsyan wrote that gaining points by show-ups will not help in settling the country’s development issue and neither in gaining public’s and international partners’ trust.

“Pashinyan has made people used to his graphic of 'lives' but that time has passed. The time has come to work and register results. It is necessary to move forward, assume responsibility, solve issues, establish ties, strengthen country’s defense,” Sargsyan wrote.

Speaking about the CSTO, Vigen Sargsyan stressed that since its foundation Armenia has been its most active and effective member.

“It is enough to say that during Armenia’s presidency in the organization the Collective security strategy has been adopted which was being discussed for many years. We have settled the issue of buying weapon by internal prices,” he said, adding that Armenia has got a significant practical benefit from it.

Sargsyan urged not to humiliate the work carried out previously. “It was enough to get power but will not be enough to keep it. Do more and it will be assessed by all. The time to assume responsibility has come,” Vigen Sargsyan wrote.

13.4 million AMD spent from state budget for a car for young head of General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia

Arsine Chaltikian
Aysor, Armenia
Dec 20 2018

Aysor.am has learnt that a new and expensive car has been bought for the young head of General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia Tatevik Revazyan. The purchase contract has been signed on October 17.

The car, Toyota Camary is of 2018 production and costs 13,4million [about $28,000] Armenian Drams.

Before the purchase the head of the committee was served by a Skoda car which belonged to Armaeronavigation company.

Head of committee’s staff Tigran Bayburtyan told Aysor.am that the purchase was envisaged by this year’s purchase plan.

“The car has been brought as the committee head did not have any,” the head of staff said.

Bayburtyan stressed that the firm from where the car was bought was selected with the results of announced contest.

Armenia’s new ‘opposition’ to be nominated to post of parliament vice-speaker

Garo Vardanian
Vestnik Kavkaza
Dec 20 2018
20 Dec in 12:40

The 'Bright Armenia' faction will nominate former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mane Tandilyan to the post of opposition vice-speaker of the National Assembly, Bright Armenia Party MP-elect Ani Samsonyan wrote on Facebook.

The Armenian parliament elects the chairperson and three deputy chairpersons among its members. One of these vice-speakers is elected from among the lawmakers of the opposition factions. The chairperson and deputy chairpersons are elected and recalled by a majority vote of the total number of MPs, News.am reported.

No negotiations over deployment of servicemen from third countries in Armenia – Naghdalyan

Hagop Kamalian
ARKA, Armenia
Dec 20 2018

YEREVAN, December 20. /ARKA/. Armenia is not conducting negotiations over deployment of servicemen from third countries, Anna Naghdalyan, press secretary of the Armenian foreign ministry, said Thursday at a briefing while commenting on a statement of Sergey Lavrov, Russian foreign minister.   

In an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, Lavrov, answering a question about American bio laboratories, said that Moscow and Yerevan were preparing a document which should guarantee the absence of foreign servicemen in bio laboratories. 

Armenian Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said yesterday that the matter had been discussed with the previous, not present government.

Naghdalyan is quoted by Novosti-Armenia as saying that these laboratories are Armenian, they belong to Armenia and controlled by the country.  

“Only Armenian experts work at these laboratories,” she said adding that the laboratories are civil in their purpose, and therefore there is no problem of military presence here. -0—

Mane Tandilyan from Bright Armenia to be nominated for Parliament Vice-Chair

Lilit Nahapetian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 20 2018
Mane Tandilyan from Bright Armenia to be nominated for Parliament Vice-Chair

2018-12-20 14:11:09

Bright Armenia Party will nominate Mane Tandilyan for Deputy President of the National Assembly, member of the Party Ani Samsonyan said in a Facebook post.

According to the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, one of the Vice-Presidents should be from the opposition.

Alen Simonyan and Lena Nazaryan from My Step bloc will be the two other vice-Chairs.

The President of the Parliament will be elected during the first sitting.

Environmentalist. Bird deaths in Armenian capital point to ecosystem’s poor health

Adrine Hakobian
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 20 2018

The growing bird death rates in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, is a sign of the ecosystem's poor health, environmentalist Karine Danielyan told Panorama.am.

“Poor ecosystem may cause such phenomena. The bird mortality will in tun lead to other consequences, but bird experts had better talk about it,” she said.

Speaking to the news agency, Silva Adamyan, the head of the Bird Center, a Yerevan-based NGO, named poisoning, climate changes, lack of food, magnetic field exposure and diseases among the possible causes of the avian deaths.

The Food Safety Inspectorate is conducting a laboratory expertise to reveal the exact reasons behind the deaths, with its results to be available on Friday, the inspectorate spokesperson, Anush Harutyunyan said.

“The most likely cause is an epidemic, which spreads very quickly. An avian flue is also not ruled out. But I don’t want to make assumptions at the moment not to cause a panic. We are constantly in touch with the citizens and the inspectorate,” Adamyan said.

She says Yerevan residents keep sending them photos of dead birds, including magpies, doves and other species. They have also received bird death alerts from Armenia’s regions.

“They may be linked to one another, but I don’t want to make strong claims in this case,” she said, urging to wait for the results of the laboratory expertise. 

Armenian government grants customs privileges to several companies

Hambik Zargarian
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 20 2018

The Armenian government granted a privilege to Spayka LLC to free it from customs duties for imports of technological equipment, their components and raw materials on the sidelines of an investment project.

The project eyes investments totalling to 28 billion drams, opening of 300 new jobs with an average monthly salary of 200,000 drams, according to the government decision approved at a meeting on Thursday.

The government also confirmed customs privileges to Nanman and Prof Al LLCs for imports of technological equipment, their components and raw materials.

Nanman company plans to make 110,100,000 drams investment and create 3 new jobs with an average salary of 78,000 drams.

As part of the investment project, Prof Al is set to invest 1 billion drams to open 50 new jobs with an average salary of 280,000 drams.

Stories from Armenia” Publication Launched

Emil Lazarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 20 2018
Stories from Armenia” Publication Launched

2018-12-20 12:10:54

The “Stories from Armenia” publicationwas launched Yerevan on 18 Wednesday. The book was produced with the financial support of the European Union.

The characters of the stories are mainly young people striving to make a change in their daily lives; they are positive about the future, yet, like most humans, have their weaknesses and shortcomings. The twelve adventure stories demonstrate how they live, create, lose, love, get disillusioned, evolve and embrace challenges and opportunities. These stories are fictional narratives about different initiatives and projects funded by the European Union, which sparked positive changes in the lives of the characters.

At the book presentation Piotr Antoni Świtalski, the EU Ambassador to Armenia welcomed the young artists who had worked on the publication, and noted, “Armenia is full of interesting stories. We are witnessing an outstanding one now in Armenia, but there are a number of other stories, which need to be told.”

Acting Minister of Culture of the Republic of Armenia Lilit Makunts highlighted the importance of culture in all aspects of life. Senior Expert of the Support to European Union Communication on Reforms in Armenia II project Raffi Niziblian noted that the stories take the reader to different places in Armenia and cover such themes as renewable energy, entrepreneurship, migration, fight against corruption and so on.

The book marks a quarter century of cooperation and partnership between the European Union and Armenia. The publication also comes at a time where the collaboration between the European Union and Eastern Partnership will celebrate its 10 years forthcoming in 2019.

The author of “Stories from Armenia” publication is young writer Artavazd Yeghiazaryan. The English translator of the book is Nazaret Seferian. The stories are written in simple and everyday language, with entertaining plot lines full of turns and twists. The publication is intended for general public and is distributed free of charge.