Category: 2023

 16:00,

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS. On June 13, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received Stephan Malerius, the head of the Regional Program “Political Dialogue South Caucasus" of the “Konrad Adenauer” Foundation, the foreign ministry said in a press release.

The interlocutors commended the close cooperation established with the foundation and exchanged views on the strengthening of democratic institutions in Armenia, the progress made as a result of the reforms and the continued support of the EU and member states in this regard.

During the meeting, the security situation in the region was touched upon. Minister Mirozyan presented the latest developments on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as the vision of the Armenian side for the solutions to the key issues and for achieving comprehensive and lasting peace in the South Caucasus region. The importance of continuous involvement of international actors and active steps in that direction was emphasized.

 16:15,

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS. More than 200 smart and promising young people selected out of 500 applicantswill get to participate in the CaseKey Business Case Competition 2023, whose title sponsor this year is Byblos Bank Armenia.

This is a unique format that enables participants to get to know a company's business, its culture, and solve an actual business problem.

Now in its third edition, CaseKey serves as a platform for students and young professionals to learn from outstanding specialists and coaches, solve real business problems posed by Armenian companies and come up with solutions for them.

Byblos Bank Armenia, which is marking its 15th anniversary this year, has decided to celebrate such an important milestone with meaningful projects and finance academic and practical educational initiatives.

On the first trainings day on June 10, Byblos Bank ArmeniaCEO Hayk Stepanyan met with the participants and spoke from his own experience in business management and administration.

“The competition is an excellent opportunity for young talents to obtain practical knowledge in today’s fast-paced world. Working on actual business cases will help them gain a competitive advantage in their careers and the knowledge and skills to craft winning strategies. I am positive that every participant will emerge with a deeper understanding of the business world, and we are here for you every step of the way,” noted Hayk Stepanyan.

Founding President of CaseKey Business Case Competition Arshak Karapetyan believes that the partnership with Byblos Bank Armenia symbolizes the sides’ shared commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and driving innovation in the business landscape

"Together, we aim to unlock the potential of young minds, empowering them to become the next generation of change makers. We look forward to a successful collaboration with Byblos Bank Armenia and are excited about the positive impact we can create together. With their invaluable support, we are confident that the CaseKey Business case Competition will continue to be a platform for aspiring youth to thrive and transform their solutions into tangible realities," said Arshak Karapetyan.

Throughout CaseKey 2023, the Bank will provide full support to the participants, help them develop their practical capabilities.

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Byblos Bank Armenia CJSC is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and will introduce a number of proposals and initiatives throughout the year.
The Bank was founded and opened the doors of its first branch in 2007. Today, the Bank has four branches in Yerevan where customers access various banking services and receive financial advice. The Bank provides its customers corporate-retail banking services that meet the highest international standards.

 16:57,

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS. Minister of High Tech Industry of Armenia Robert Khachatryan held a meeting on June 13 with the Ambassador of Iran to Armenia Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri.

The meeting focused on prospects of development of the Armenia-Iran relations in the high tech sector, particularly the opportunities for developing ties between Armenian and Iranian tech companies, the ministry said in a readout.

Minister Khachatryan thanked the ambassador for his efforts in the direction of strengthening the Armenian-Iranian cooperation and reiterated readiness to support the development and deepening of bilateral ties.

Speaking about opportunities for cooperation with Iranian companies, the minister pointed out the participation of Iranian companies in the DigiTec Expo 2022 in Yerevan in March.

Khachatryan said he was very impressed by the solutions offered by the Iranian companies for the Armenian market, as well as their readiness to cooperate with Armenian companies. The High Tech Industry Minister said that there are multiple opportunities for development of partnership between companies, while the ministry’s role is to connect the right addressees with each other.

Ambassador Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri called on the two countries to increase the level of awareness on each other’s potential and opportunities for the development of bilateral cooperation. The Iranian Ambassador especially mentioned the deep historical ties between Armenia and Iran, and said that there are serious prerequisites for development of bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including in the high tech sector.

 17:15,

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank is forecasting 6,9% economic growth in 2023, while inflation will stabilize around 4%, Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan said at a press conference Tuesday.

The Central Bank lowered the refinancing rate by 0,25 percentage points and set it at 10,5%.

The dropping demand in commodity markets continues to contribute to deflation and inflation pressures from global markets on Armenian markets are significantly weakening.

“A higher than expected economic activity is seen in the second quarter of 2023, mostly contributed by the high growth in construction and services,” Galstyan said.

The inflation environment is being mitigated.

The central bank revised the economic growth projections for 2023, increasing its original projection by 1% and is now forecasting 6,9% growth next year due to the rapidly growing construction and service sector.

The prices of imported goods are dropping faster than expected, Galstyan added.

 07:46,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani authorities have again released disinformation, the Nagorno Karabakh (Republic of Artsakh) Defense Ministry warned Wednesday.

“The statement released by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claiming that [Artsakh] Defense Army units opened fire around 19:15, June 13 at Azerbaijani positions deployed in the occupied territories of the Shushi region of the Republic of Artsakh is yet another disinformation,” the Ministry of Defense of Artsakh said in a statement.

 09:33,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh on June 13, the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) authorities said on Wednesday.

Azerbaijani troops used small arms in the shootings in the northern, eastern and south-western directions of the line of contact, the Ministry of Defense of Nagorno Karabakh said. The shootings happened throughout the day, during the afternoon and in the evening.

Nagorno Karabakh did not suffer casualties.

The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh said it reported the ceasefire breach to the Russian peacekeeping command.

As of 09:30, June 14, the situation in the line of contact was relatively stable.

 10:07,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani forces opened fire at military and civilian facilities in Yeraskh on June 13, and a steel mill which is under development with foreign investments was also targeted, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“On June 13, the armed forces of Azerbaijan, once again resorting to the use of force, opened fire on the positions of the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia and civilian objects located near the Yeraskh settlement of the Republic of Armenia. It is noteworthy that the Azerbaijani side opened fire in the direction of a metallurgical factory which will be built in Yeraskh with the involvement of foreign investments. This was preceded by Azerbaijan's false accusations against the Armenian side regarding the construction of the mentioned factory. The Republic of Armenia has previously stated that the construction of the plant fully complies with its international obligations, and that Azerbaijan's false concerns are simply aimed at hindering Armenia's economic development and foreign investments. Now, by firing at the plant under construction, Azerbaijan demonstrates overt disregard towards Armenia's internationally recognized borders, human rights and international law. Moreover, Azerbaijan consistently proves that in the negotiation processes with the Republic of Armenia in all directions it is guided only by the principle of imposing the desired solutions on the Republic of Armenia with the illegal use of force, perceiving the weak response and permissiveness of the international community as a favorable or encouraging environment. We call on the international community to take concrete steps to curb Azerbaijan's expansionist ambitions and its unacceptable policy of achieving its groundless, illogical and arbitrary demands through the use of force and the threat of force,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia said in the statement.

 09:48,

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan doesn’t generally seek to fully cut off its relations with Iran but is rather aiming to push Iran to launch the Rasht-Astara section of the North-South corridor and build the 162km long railway, according to expert on Iran Harut Artin Arakelyan.

Azerbaijan has already reached its goal since Russia and Iran have already agreed to invest joint resources for launching that section, Arakelyan told ARMENPRESS, speaking about the prospects of the reopening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran.

Nasser Kanaani, the official representative of the Iranian foreign ministry, earlier said that the Tehran-Baku negotiations are now shifting from the phase of tensions to the phase of discussing the reopening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran.

“Iran is displaying unique diplomacy, it’s not in a hurry, allowing time to solve many issues. Nonetheless, for strengthening control against Azerbaijan and bringing it on its side, meeting Baku halfway in regional logistic issues will definitely be used in Iran’s foreign policy as an important direction. The parties will achieve the reopening of the Azerbaijani embassy to be directly interlinked with the launch of the North-South corridor through Azerbaijani territory,” Arakelyan said.

The expert said the discussions on reopening the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran were definitely expected. Moreover, this isn’t mainly Azerbaijan’s desire, because the goal of its sponsors, especially Israel, is to spread anti-Iranian sentiments. That’s why Iran continues to conduct military exercises, because the drills basically have a preventative nature.

Nevertheless, according to Arakelyan, there will still be some feuds between the two countries especially in the media sector because Iran’s rivals Israel and the UK have great influence over Azerbaijan, and they will try to limit Iran’s aspirations in the South Caucasus, but if Iran were to normalize its relations with Azerbaijan it would thus strengthen its positions in the region.

According to Arakelyan, Iran will nonetheless not succeed in completely bringing Azerbaijan on its side and keeping control over it, thus it will seek to treat it as a colleague, preventing the influence especially from Israel, which is attempting to develop good-neighborly ties with all neighbors of Iran and create obstacles for Tehran in the region.

“It’s not like Iran is silently looking at this all, Tehran recently showcased its air defense arsenal, ballistic missiles with a range of 1400 kilometers. Iran is simultaneously strengthening its positions in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, showing that it can successfully counter Israel and compete against it also for expanding its zones of influence in Azerbaijan. By cooperating, the Iranian and Azerbaijani governments will be able to silence anti-Iranian elements in Azerbaijan,” the expert said.

If Azerbaijan-Iran relations get normalized, Armenia will also have a lever in terms of suppressing Azerbaijan’s encroachments by establishing closer ties with Iran, thus regional stability stems from Armenia’s vital interests, the expert added.