Tag Archives: Armenia

Armenian fruit firms sign deal with the UAE

MARCH 29 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Two fruit and vegetable companies in Armenia have signed supply deals with six luxury hotels in the UAE, media reported. The Armenian companies, Tamara Fruit and Natural Organic Healthy Food Company, signed the deals earlier in March at a UAE-Armenia trade meeting in the Dubai. This sort of deal is important for Armenia which is looking to boost its exports.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 323, published on April 6 2017)

 

Rates kept steady, prices rise in Armenia

APRIL 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s Central Bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6% because inflation was rebounding (March 28). It said that for the 12 months to the end of March inflation measured minus 0.2% but that it was confident that this would rise to plus 4% by the end of the year. The impact of a recent economic slowdown on Armenia has been to push prices down. In an interview with Reuters, Central Bank chief Arthur Javadyan said that it would simply be too risky for the Central Bank to cut interest rates any further. In August 2015, Armenia’s key interest rate had measured 10.5%.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 323, published on April 6 2017)

Armenian investors set up IT projects

MARCH 29 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A group of Armenian investors have set up a fund to help kick-start IT projects, media reported, boosting Armenia’s reputation as the IT hub of the South Caucasus/Central Asia region. Reports said that the fund was looking to sponsor 10 start-ups with $200,000 each. Armenia’s government has been encouraging the development of an IT sector. It has made deals with Microsoft and an Armenian-US company produces smartphones and tablets in the country.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 323, published on April 6 2017)

Comment: Armenia is facing its most important election, says Bagdasaryan

MARCH 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The April 2 parliamentary elections will define Armenia’s politics for the next five years, starting with the transformation from semi-presidential government to parliamentary republic even though this shift is not fully understood by the majority of society.

Armenia’s ruling Republican party is playing on society’s lack of understanding of the changes to try to retain a majority in parliament. But this is not a promising election for Republicans and for party leader, President Serzh Sargsyan.

The ruling party’s rating reached a historical low after years of economic stagnation, and accusations that corrupt officials were to blame for losses in a breakdown of a ceasefire with Azerbaijan around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in April last year. When 20 gunmen stormed a police station in Yerevan a few months later and took nine policemen hostage for two weeks, the violent action was not condemned by the public. Instead they were welcomed.

This seizure of the police station was used by the government as a trigger for reforms. The government changed some of the less-liked faces and Sargsyan invited former Yerevan mayor and Gazprom official Karen Karapetyan back from Moscow to become prime minister. Karapetyan promised to improve the government, root out corruption, improve the business environment and invest into the economy. His style of management was widely supported by the media and was positively greeted.

Karapetyan and his small team now lead Republicans’ election campaign, while the President, and party chairman, Serzh Sargsyan keeps himself in the shadows. Karapetyan’s popularity endures but there is still a job to do to win the election and that is where the Republican Party’s strategy comes into play. The Republican Party list of candidates is dominated by business and administrative heavyweights who’ll bring votes to the party.

The opposition fall short in this category. Almost all of them, with the exception of the pseudo-opposition Tsarukyan party, are fighting to enter parliament not through majoritan wins, but by passing the proportional representation threshold (5% for a party or 7% for a bloc).

The new parliament will take part in a power reshape between the president and the prime minister. A smooth election would legitimatise the new Constitution and parliamentary system.

By Eric Bagdasaryan is an independent analyst and executive secretary of Armenian Centre for Social Development and Public Policy

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Economic activity picks up in Armenia but deflation lingers

YEREVAN, MARCH 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s economic activity barometer, considered to be a key indicator of future growth, increased by 6.2% in the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2016, the National Statistics Agency said (March 20).

The data comes at just the right time for the ruling Republican Party which is looking to increase it support among voters ahead of a parliamentary election on April 2.

The growth in economic activity, though, was uneven. The growth came in industry and services. Agri- culture was stagnant and the important construction sector fell by 13.8%.

Armenia’s economy has been limping along since 2015 and deflationary pressure has become a major concern for policy makers. Over January and February, the statistics agency said that deflation had measured 0.4%.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Armenian president signs deals with UAE

MARCH 22 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Looking to boost investment from the UAE, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan travelled to Dubai to sign various deals. The most significant deal was a visa waiver between Armenia and the UAE. Media reports of Mr Sargsyan’s visit to the UAE said that discussions had focused on expanding bilateral relations, especially in tourism, agriculture and water management.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Armenia joins China-led AIIB

MARCH 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia was one of 13 new members to be approved by the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). This was the first new intake of members at the AIIB since its inception in January 2016 and brings its total to 70. In the Central Asia/South Caucasus region, only Turkmenistan has declined to join the AIIB. The US, a non-member, sees the AIIB as an attempt by China to try to extend its influence.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)f

 

Armenian police arrest activist for smuggling missile

YEREVAN, MARCH 22 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Armenia arrested influential opposition activist Samvel Babyan for allegedly smuggling a surface-to-air shoulder-launched missile into the country.

Mr Babyan’s supporters said that the accusations were absurd and that they were politically motivated. Two other men were also arrested with Mr Babyan.

The arrest comes just days before a tense parliamentary election in Armenia, the first under a new constitution that will shape Armenian politics for the next few years. Under constitutional amendments, power will shift from the president to parliament.

And Mr Babyan, a former defence minister in the Armenia-backed government of Nagorno-Karabakh, publicly supports the Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanyan bloc, named after three former government ministers who now lead the opposition to the ruling Republican Party.

They condemned his arrest.

“This behaviour exercised by the government is aimed at spreading the atmosphere of fear and affecting the results of the elections in an illegal way,” the Reuters news agency quoted their statement as saying.

Armenia’s security services said that the two men had been caught smuggling the missile in from Georgia, in order to deliver it to Mr Babyan. Although he has denied the charges, Mr Babyan’s reputation as a tough guy will mean that many ordinary Armenia’s will take the authorities’ view.

In 2000 he was sent to prison for 14 years for trying to assassinate a former leader of Nagorno-Karabakh. Released in 2004 he moved to Russia and only moved back to Armenia last year.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Only a UN negotiated peace deal in 1994 ended the fighting, although the peace remains shaky.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Record number of Iranians flock to Georgia and Armenia for Nowruz

TBILISI/YEREVAN, MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iranians have been piling into Georgia and Armenia to celebrate Nowruz, one of the biggest Muslim holidays of the year.

Visitor data for both Armenia and Georgia will be released later this year but evidence shows that the holiday, the biggest annual get-away for Iranians, is likely to have triggered a record number of tourists from Iran.

Media in Iran said that airlines were going to run 22 flights a week over the Nowruz period from Iran to Armenia to cope with the demand.

Both Georgia and Armenia scrapped visas for Iranians last year, triggering a boom in tourist numbers and also in business links. Iran has become an important revenue generators for Georgia and Armenia, especially during the economic downturn that has hit the region.

According to statistics held by Georgia’s National Tourism Administration, nearly 150,000 Iranians travelled to Georgia in 2016, a 6-fold increase from 2015.

Masoud Silakhori, economic advisor of the Georgia-Iran Common Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told The Conway Bulletin that Iranian investment in Georgia has grown exponentially since the visa free regime reintroduction.

“Nearly 20,000 Iranian companies have been registered in Georgia in the last year,” he said.

In 2012, when Georgia first relaxed restrictions on Iranians doing business, there was a reported rush of new companies linked to Iran being open — 1,500 in total.

And it’s changing the face of Georgia’s streets too. Now Farsi signs hang above shop windows in Tbilisi, head scarves are an increasingly common sight and the Iranian flag competes for space among other more familiar flags outside businesses.

Geopolitics and the spread of terrorism, is also an issue. Nima Farzaneh, the owner of the Iranian restaurant 1001 Nights told the Bulletin that along with the establishment of visa free regime, the high number of terror attacks in Turkey played a role too.

“For many years Iranians went to Turkey, but since terrorism spread there, our tourists decided to come here. That also helped the increase of Iranian businesses,” he said.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Russia wants Armenia-Turket detente

MARCH 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an interview with Armenian media, Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said that Russia would help Turkey and Armenia patch up their differences. Relations between Armenia and Turkey are strained over a row over an alleged genocide of Armenians by Ottoman Turks at the end of the Second World War. Russia is Armenia’s biggest patron and is now also on decent terms with Turkey.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)