A meeting took place Thursday between the former presidents of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, and Bako Sahakyan. Arman Musinyan, the spokesman of First President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, wrote about this on Facebook.

A number of issues related to the situation on the ground in Artsakh and possible future developments in the post-war period were discussed during the meeting, he added.

In response to media inquiries, the Office of the Third President of the Republic of Armenia confirms the fact of a meeting held between the former presidents of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on March 25. The office of the third President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, on Friday noted about this on Facebook.

“The priorities stemming from issues of vital importance to Artsakh and Armenia made it imperative to hold regular discussions in that format during the last Artsakh war and in the post-war period,” the statement added.

The Matevosyan family has lived in a makeshift house in Gyumri for thirty years.

Gagik Matevosyan, the father of the family, says they may get a new apartment soon. “When the local municipality told us we’d get an apartment, we were very happy. But now, we don’t care about it anymore” says Mr. Matevosyan.

His youngest son, 25-year-old Armen, died during last year’s 44-day war in Artsakh. On October 6, near Horadiz, Armen was severely wounded in the head. He was first transferred to Sisian, then to Yerevan. Doctors could not save his life. The young man did not awake from a coma.

As soon as they heard the news, the family left for Yerevan. Mr. Matevosyan says the doctors knew that their son would not survive the moment they brought him to hospital. The wound was very bad, but the family did not lose hope. Armen might have survived if he had been wounded elsewhere.

“My Armen had a very calm character, but last year he kept himself very busy. He was afraid he wouldn’t finish whatever he started. Maybe because he felt something” says Armen’s mother, Tamara Matevosyan.

Armen last talked to his family on the phone the day before he was injured, on October 5. First, he talked to his mother, as if he had called to say goodbye, then he called his father and his older brother, Artur. “That day he knew he would not be alive,” says Mrs. Matevosyan.https://www.facebook.com/v3.2/plugins/quote.php?app_id=468673766529308&channel=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticxx.facebook.com%2Fx%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter%2F%3Fversion%3D46%23cb%3Df1bd921a273c6a%26domain%3Dhetq.am%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fhetq.am%252Ff292f2c6a883a02%26relation%3Dparent.parent&container_width=930&href=https%3A%2F%2Fhetq.am%2Fen%2Farticle%2F128856&locale=en_US&sdk=joey

Armen and his older brother, Artur, served as border guards, on the Armenian-Georgian border. When they learned that Artur was to be conscripted to the battlefield, Armen insisted that his brother’s name be removed from the list and he be taken instead. Mrs. Matevosyan says Armen wanted to go instead of Artur because the latter got married two months prior to the war.

The Matevosyans have set up a corner in their living room as a shrine to their deceased son. Armen’s pictures, military awards and sports medals are displayed on the table. Armen had quite a lot of success in sambo and judo. His trainer even offered him the chance to continue his career in sports, but he chose military service because of the stable salary.

Last year, Armen started several jobs during his time free from military service. He rented some land and planted potatoes. He started making handmade wooden cornices and supplied handicrafts to flower shops.

Armen had also dug a small pond in the yard with his own hands, had drawn water from the river flowing nearby and started breeding trout.

“Because he was very busy, he did not spend much time at home, and I missed him. I wanted to always be where he was,” says Mrs. Matevosyan. Armen was going to leave his military job soon and devote all his time to agriculture and woodworking

Armen’s uncle, Gevorg Matevosyan, also went to Karabakh to fight and was seriously wounded when he and his comrades-in-arms were carrying the bodies of fallen soldiers. It happened a few days after Armen was hit. He’s in hospital, in critical condition. He has amnesia and his hearing is deteriorating daily. It’s not clear when, or if, he’ll recover.

“I always blame myself that my son is gone. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, I always question myself. My Armen is always with me,” says Mrs. Matevosyan.

Mr. Matevosyan used to work as a construction laborer in Russia. He hasn’t made the seasonal trip for the past two years and hasn’t decided if he wants to return or not. Mrs. Matevosyan works at a bakery at minimum wage. It helps her escape the grief she bears.

Armen’s older brother and his wife are expecting a baby soon. Mrs. Matevosyan hopes the baby’s arrival will ease their pain. She says the only thing giving her the will to live is the prospect of new life in the family.

Source: https://hetq.am/en/article/128856

The Armenian government decided on Thursday, March 25 to raise the salaries of the employees of the country’s patrol service and city and regional police departments. In some cases, wages are expected to almost double.

According to the project, the salary of junior inspectors with an experience of up to 5 years will increase by 68.8% – from the current AMD 190,552 to AMD 320,000 (from $360 to $605).

The monthly salary of patrol service officers with the rank of police lieutenant and 2-5 years of experience will grow by 97.5% – from the current AMD 198,565 to AMD 402,181 (from $375 to $760).

Higher salaries are expected to arrive from April.

During the congress of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Istanbul Armenian doctor Sevan Sivacioglu became a member of the party’s executive committee.

According to Milliyet, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected as chairman of the AKP, and the aforesaid Armenian physician was included in the members of the executive committee.

Sivacioglu worked as a surgeon at the Armenian hospital in Istanbul.

Russian has received the status of an official language in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Chairman of the Artsakh National Assembly Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Aram Harutyunyan, who is one of the co-authors of this law initiative, informed Armenian NEWS.am about this Thursday.

He stressed, however, that the matter is with respect to giving Russian the status of the second official language, whereas Armenian remains the only state language of Artsakh.

Earlier, the persons behind this initiative had assured that there was no coercion from the Russian side in this regard.

France has offered to give the Greek navy two first-class frigates, the “Jean Bart” (anti-aircraft warfare) and the “Latouche-Tréville” (anti-submarine warfare) free of charge, Greek City Times reported, citing La Tribune.

The French Navy will hand over these two vessels if Athens chooses France through its international call for tenders to build new frigates for the Greek Navy.

Beyond the purchase of four new frigates and the modernisation of its four German-made MEKO frigates, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos also included in his tender for two used ships that are “ready” and “in good condition” for temporary use.

This will be “an intermediate solution” while awaiting the commissioning of the new frigates which will take seven or eight years to construct.

Paris, as La Tribune writes, has found a solution which could satisfy Greece and does not upset the French navy too much.

Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan posted the following on his Facebook page:

“AZERBAIJANI ARMED FORCES UNDER GLOBAL RESTRICTIONS AGAINST WAR USED THE COVID-19 VIRUS TO CAUSE MASS DEATHS AND OTHER SUFFERINGS TO THE POPULATIONS OF ARTSAKH AND ARMENIA

Due to the Azerbaijani armed attacks under conditions of COVID-19, this deadly virus had a rapid growth not only in Artsakh, but also in Armenia.

If according to the data of the 7 months before the war 951 people were registered, then during the war alone that number reached 658, and only during the half a month after the war 584 people died.

In doing so, the Azerbaijani armed forces committed not only war crimes, but also crimes against humanity.

Gross violations of life, health, dignity and other rights have also been carried out.

Exactly 1 year ago, on March 23, 2020, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the world to establish a COVID-19 ceasefire to focus on “the real struggle of our lives.”

The Azerbaijani attacks began in gross violation of international calls for avoidance of war, and a global ceasefire, including a direct demand by the UN Security Council to end all hostilities during COVID-19 immediately.

It was clear that the attack during the COVID-19 global pandemic would significantly contribute to the humanitarian catastrophe.

No country’s healthcare system is able to resist against this deadly virus in the face of large-scale war.

The fact-finding work of the Republic of Armenia (RA) and Artsakh Human Rights Defenders proves that it was the global restrictions of this virus that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces used to cause mass deaths and other sufferings to the populations of Artsakh and Armenia.

The details are reflected in the special report of the RA Human Rights Defender.”

Eric Grimes

Following the start of another political crisis in Armenia, the future for the country in the mountainous Caucasus region looks unclear. The latest events have seen thousands taking to the streets to call for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation. Following a tumultuous 2020 with the Nagorno-Karabakh war, the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic stagnation, political tensions are high. Pashinyan has faced mounting protests and calls from the opposition to resign since the six-week armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia last year. At the heart of this turmoil, is the Russia-brokered ceasefire, which has seen Russian soldiers deployed as peacekeepers and resulted in Armenia ceding control of parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts.

What is clear, is that the war and loss of Nagorno-Karabakh have exacerbated socio-economic issues in Armenia and have proven a catalyst for social division. The question now lies in Armenia’s future. How should those within the Republic of Armenia look forward? Until now, the focus of the Armenian state and diaspora has largely been on the past. However, energy and focus must now be directed toward the future of Armenia and creating a unique, successful country. To achieve this, cooperation between state, community, and diaspora is essential.

The war and COVID-19 have accelerated every existing issue in the region, making it clear that in order to emerge from the other side, a more solid long-term strategy for the country is required. Strategic investment in developing countries can have a hugely positive impact on local economies. Impact investment has proven to be successful in a number of developing countries because of its long-term focus on strengthening local economic and social environments. Its core emphasis is on the merger of commercial and social ventures and promotion of investment into companies, organisations, and funds that will generate a positive social and environmental impact.

In Armenia, a country long held back by its landlocked location and geopolitical constraints, impact investment could be used to spur both an economic and societal flourish. Ruben Vardanyan is a champion of developing a long-term strategy and has been driving impact investment in Armenia and Russia for over thirty years. Vardanyan, along with Noubar Afeyan, an American-Armenian entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist, have implemented partnership projects that have transformed the socio-economic environment in Armenia. Twenty years ago, they began a joint life-long journey to initiate the Armenia-2020 project by creating anchor projects.

Their foundation, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative along with Vardanyan and Afeyan’s other pioneer projects; the IDeA Foundation, UWC Dilijan, and FAST Foundation, have all helped build sustainable initiatives that promote positive long-term socio-economic impact and preserve Armenian identity. Numerous philanthropic projects have been implemented – with the aim to aid the development of a more coherent and thriving economic and social ecosystem in Armenia. The Armenia-2020 initiative called on Armenians to discuss the future of their country and formulate a project plan of how that vision could be achieved. Armenia-2020 and Armenia-2040, both involved large-scale research and the decision to follow the concept of holistic development.

Multi-purpose breakthrough projects are being used to promote Armenia as a future regional hub for healthcare, technology, and education. UWC Dilijan is Armenia’s first international boarding school, welcoming students from over 80 countries. The school, part of the Scholae Mundi Foundation, has played a wider role in the development of Dilijan – it is a key employer and helped Dilijan prosper economically. The FAST Foundation was launched in 2016 and drives technological innovation in Armenia and the region. The anchor projects implemented all have long-term and tangible benefits. Recently, FAST announced a new project in collaboration with the British Council. The project part of SciNova will focus on the commercialisation of science – in order to promote science as a lucrative career path for young Armenians.

Vardanyan and Afeyan’s strategy for impact investment has recently been studied in a new book by Blair Sheppard, head of global strategy at PwC. In his book, Ten Years to Midnight: Four Urgent Global Crises and their Strategic Solutions, Blair Sheppard sets out the most urgent global challenges and what he believes are their key solutions – rebuilding and reinvigorating institutions. At its core is a simple idea, one that believes if globalisation is to truly work, we need strong local economies and ecosystems. Blair Sheppard underlines the components used by Vardanyan and Afeyan in Armenia and argues they should be used more widely in the country and as a blueprint for how other countries can develop on a local level, allowing them to go on to become a global actor.

The formula used by Vardanyan, Afeyan, and partners in Armenia, covered in Sheppard’s book, highlights a change in how we should address investment in developing countries. It emphasises the successes that have been made in Armenia, and what more can be done. If their calls for further engagement and discussion are listened to, Armenia has the potential to quickly and successfully develop – especially with the large swathes of talented diaspora, who could provide counsel and financing. Being a small country makes you vulnerable, but it also gives you the power to change things quickly, to change them for the better. The holistic approach to impact investment should be reflected across other projects in Armenia. For a country to truly work towards sustainable development, the evidence shows that long-term investment, partnership, and independence is far more successful than the traditional triad of help, charity, and advice.

Source: https://intpolicydigest.org/using-impact-investment-to-build-sustainable-development-in-armenia/