Category: 2024

 22:01,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. The Council of the EU has decided to expand its civilian observation mission in Armenia, the press service of the EU observation mission in Armenia said in a post on X.

“Welcoming the EU Council decision on enlargement of EUMA. The increase in mission personnel underlines the EU’s commitment to peace and security in the region,” reads the post.

The decision published on the EU website states that the basic financial amount intended to cover the expenses related to the mission in the period from January 23, 2023 to February 19, 2025 will amount to 39 million 35 thousand euros.

In December, 2023, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the bloc will increase the number of observers for its mission in Armenia (EUMA) to 209 from 138.

 09:51,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. 492 billion 933,5 million (over $1,2 billion) in construction was carried out in Armenia in January-November 2023, a significantly high figure said to be pushed by various factors.

Narek Karapetyan, a researcher at Amberd Research Center, told Armenpress that the construction boom is associated with several factors, such as the revenue tax-mortgage interest rate program (mortgage tax relief) and its gradual cancellation in Yerevan, the increase in demand in the real estate market and growth in revenue.

“This is a high figure. And it has been high all the time in the past few years,” Karapetyan said.

“The main moving force is the [mortgage tax relief] program and its gradual cancellation in Yerevan, this has contributed to faster construction,” he added. 

Speaking about the growing demand in the real estate market, the expert said the increase is mostly due to foreign travelers, but not necessarily because they are buying homes, but actually because they have become the main actors in the rentals market, which subsequently increased the prices and made homeowners in Armenia buy new apartments and rent them out. This, in turn, leads to increase in demand, i.e., construction of new housing projects.

23% of the total construction of 2023 was carried out from the state budget. This mostly encompasses road construction, according to Karapetyan.

Most of the construction was carried out by private companies (256,6 billion drams), growing 22,5% compared to 2022’s same period. Foreign investors carried out over 3,9 billion drams in construction, which is a 63,9% YoY decrease.

Commercial banks issued a total of over 483,6 billion drams in loans to the construction sector in 2023 November, which is 143 billion more compared to 2022 November.

Although the construction volume of the past few years is still behind the figures of the construction boom of the 2000s, the actual number of buildings that are being built now contain characteristics of a boom. The present-day figures are behind those of 2007-2008, but now the model has changed, and there’s a boom in this new model which encompasses a broader circle of people.

According to Karapetyan, in the 2000s people were mostly buying real estate in downtown Yerevan, whereas now they prefer the suburbs. Apartment purchases are now attributed to the middle class, he said, adding that in the 2000s most of the buyers were either foreigners or people with significantly higher income.

 11:09,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan has met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Iranian Embassy in Armenia said on X.

The embassy said that during the meeting the Iranian FM “emphasized the importance of preserving historic routes of connectivity and absence of geopolitical changes in the process of the developments in the Caucasus.”

 11:19,

YREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Ambassador to Russia Vagharshak Harutyunyan has met with Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Galuzin.

In a readout, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Galuzin and the Armenian Ambassador discussed the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization process.

“The Russian side emphasized the need for swift restoration of the trilateral work in this direction, based on a number of agreements between the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

 11:35,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenian authorities will carry on with the peace agenda regardless of the obstacles, ruling Civil Contract party lawmaker Arthur Hovhannisyan has said.

“We share the prime minister’s opinion that this wasn’t an attempt to lead the peace agenda into a deadlock,” Hovhannisyan said when asked to comment on latest aggressive rhetoric from Azerbaijan, which the Armenian PM said he hoped was not an attempt to derail the talks. 

“But even if it was an attempt by Azerbaijan to bring the peace agenda into deadlock, this won’t anyhow stop our policy or agenda,” he added, noting that they are now trying to advance the peace agenda with international partners.

“Armenia does not have an agenda of war. Armenia has an agenda of peace, and we are moving on that path,” he said.

 12:12,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Crossroads of Peace project shows all roads and railways that the country is ready to open, a Member of Parliament has said.

“Armenia has presented the Crossroads of Peace project which clearly shows all the roads, railways, possible connections, which it is ready, and wants to, and is interested in opening,” MP Arusyak Julhakyan told reporters when asked whether or not Azerbaijan has offered to open any specific road.

“And regarding what the President of Azerbaijan is saying, specifically which part of our project he is interested in, that’s his agenda, I don’t think it would be right for us to enter that agenda. I think it’s right to advance our own agenda,” Julhakyan said.

The MP added that Armenia has presented the Crossroads of Peace project to the international community, including Azerbaijan and other regional countries.

 11:46,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Lydian Armenia, the operator of the Amulsar gold mine in Armenia’s south, has donated 12,5% of its shares to the Armenian government.

In 2023, the Armenian government, the Eurasian Development Bank and Lydian Armenia signed a MoU to explore the opportunities of continuing the exploitation of the mine. Lydian Armenia said it would ensure at least 250,000,000 dollars in investments. In addition, Lydian Armenia said it would pay an extra 7 million dollars in financial support annually to local communities near the mine in addition to the allocations for environmental protection projects envisaged under environmental taxes. The donation of the 12,5% shares to the government is also part of the MoU.

Amulsar gold mine’s adjacent communities are Jermuk, Sisian and Vayk.

The decision on approving the donation was made at the Cabinet meeting on January 18.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the government has received answers to all questions regarding the Amulsar mine, and thus authorities have considered greenlighting the resumption of the project. 

“We faced problems related to the Amulsar mine all the time in the past six years. And certainly, we had multiple concerns, and the government has been very consistent in receiving answers to these concerns. We deemed the continuation of the project possible when we received answers to all the questions. And it is commendable that, following one example, the investors wanted the people, in person of the government, to have participation and have shares in that project. And in this case, 12,5% will pass to the Armenian government, meaning, to the people of Armenia,” Pashinyan said.

“We hope that the Amulsar mine will become a platform for introducing new standards in mining,” the Armenian PM said, adding that the project will contribute to economic growth.