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“Halal” Office opened in Yerevan ahead of Novruz Holiday

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“Halal” Office was officially opened on Friday in Yerevan, attended by number of officials, Armenian Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan among them.

In Mr Karayan’s words the opening of Halal office will promote the consumption volumes of Armenian products, increase tourist attractiveness of Armenia, as well as facilitate the access of the locally produced goods to new markets.

Armenian Ministry of Economic Development and Investment is set to organize awareness raising seminars for entrepreneurs along with the “Halal” office.

Director at “Halal” office Abdul Huseyin Fahari noted in his speech that the international agency provides certification to economic entities that produce goods in compliance of halal principles and practices in the food and beverages industry.

The certification authorized by Halal is valid in 57 countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The international center has operated since 2004.

Mr Fahari noted the office has launched cooperation with two slaughterhouses in Armenia, granting them the right to use Halal marking

To note, Halal Certification is a recognition that the products are permissible under Islamic law. These products are thus edible, drinkable or usable by Muslims.

The opening of the office comes ahead of Novruz holiday in neighboring Iran with expected Iranian tourism arrivals in Armenia.

 

Source Panorama.am

Number of Iran-Armenia flights to increase during Nowruz

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Flights en route from Rasht to Yerevan will operate during the Nowruz period (Iranian New Year), ISNA Iranian news agency reports.

In an interview with ISNA, Executive Director of Sardar Jangal International Airport of Iranian Rasht city Gholamreza Karim Aghaei informed that the first flight en route from Rasht to Yerevan will operate in the period of Nowruz, namely on 19 March.

To note, besides Tehran, charter flights are also carried out from Iranian Tabriz and Mashhad cities to Yerevan.

As ISNA reports, the Ambassador of Iran to Armenia Seyed Kazem Sajjadi recently informed that after setting visa-free regime between Armenia and Iran the number of Iranian tourists to Armenia is expected to increase amounting to 350.000.

 

Source Panorama.am

Persian-language info offices to open in Armenia during Nowruz

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During the Iranian New Year, also known as Nowruz, Persian-language information offices will be opened across Armenia, a meeting of state and private tourism organizations has decided.

The content of a Persian-language magazine about Armenia and the dissemination of publications among Iranian tourists at Armenia’s border checkpoints have been discussed.

Also, issues of printing and installing billboards, as well as launching a hotline were in the spotlight.

Iran lashed out on Turkey accusing Erdogan trying to build an empire

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His remarks came after Bahram Qassemi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Turkey “should not test Iran’s patience.”

“Those who have immature dreams about rebuilding an empire and have taken meddlesome, illegal and illegitimate measures and supported terrorist groups cannot shirk their responsibility for such moves through a blame game,” Qassemi said in a statement late Feb. 19, as quoted by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency.

“They should be aware that insecurity and instability in the region has no perpetrator other than them and some other paranoid states,” he added.

Qassemi referred to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavushoglu’s speech in the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where he called on Iran to stop conducting sectarian policy for the sake of maintaining regional stability and security.

“Iran wants to turn Syria and Iraq into Shi’ite,” Chavushoglu told delegates at the security conference, adding that Turkey was against sectarianism in the Middle East and had called on Iran to stop threatening the region’s stability.

In addition, President Recep Tayyip Erdoghan said Feb. 14, during his visit to Bahrain, that Iran was pursuing “Persian nationalism” in the region.

Iran on February 20 summoned the Turkish ambassador in Tehran on Monday over comments made by Çavuşoğlu and Erdoğan.

But on Feb. 20, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Numan Kurtulmuş struck a more conciliatory tone, downplaying any reports of tension.

“Iran and Turkey are friendly nations. There can be differences in views from time to time, but there can’t be animosity because of comments,” he told reporters during a news conference after a cabinet meeting.

“Even if our political differences with Iran emerge, these shouldn’t be blown out of proportion,” he said.

Vigen Sargsyan: Armenia seeks to expand defense cooperation with Iran

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The settlement of the regional disputes by means of the use of force is considered unacceptable by Iran. Iran’s Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Hossein Dehghani has noted the aforesaid during the meeting with Armenia’s Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan today in the morning. Panorama.am reports referring to the Information and Propaganda Department of Iran’s Defense Ministry.

Expressing satisfaction over dynamically developing Armenian-Iranian relations Iran’s Defense Minister has said: “Surrounded by 15 neighbors Iran has always sought to establish good neighborly relations with them.”

Turning to the regional conflicts Hossein Dehghani has particularly noted: “The settlement of the regional conflicts through the use of force is unacceptable. They must be tackled exclusively by peaceful means_ through dialogues and Iran will take all the possible efforts to support that process.”

Underscoring Iran’s role in the region Armenia’s Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan has assured that Armenia is willing to expand its cooperation with Iran and to raise the bilateral relations to a new level.

“Armenia seeks to expand its cooperation with Iran in the defense sphere and we believe that this visit will promote the further cooperation,” he noted.

Vigen Sargsyan has welcomed Iran’s role in the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement and expressed confidence that the conflict has no military solution.

USSR closed canal and made Iran’s Armenians return to homeland: CIA

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Following the termination of WWII, the USSR launched a vast propaganda scheme to attract Armenians residing outside the USSR to return to their homeland, a new declassified document released by the U.S. Central Intelligence agency recently revealed.

Consequently, a large number of Armenians did return to the USSR, including 20.000 Iranian-Armenians from Arak, Julfa, Faridan and elswhere. However, as reports of the unfavorable treatment by the Soviets reached other Armenians in Iran, they hesitated to go to the USSR. These reports left thousands of Iranian-Armenians who had already liquidated their means of livelihood stranded, hopeless and in desperate condition in Iran.

One person, Mirza Naqi Khan Soradi, owner of a large tract of land in the vicinity of Pahlavi Avenue gave these Armenians, who now numbered 9.000, free of charge 100.000 square meters of land.

“Today, after four years (the document is dated July 18, 1952 – editor’s note), a small Armenian town which closely resembles a Stone-Age settlement, has risen in the northern part of Tehran and is far worse than the slums which are located in the southern part of Tehran,” the document said.

This Armenian settlement was situated 6 meters lower than the surrounding terrain. The streets were narrow, winding and confusing. Small lodgings had less than 50 square meters of floor space and consisted of two or three rooms, with each room being occupied by five to eight persons. Food and other necessities being sold in little shops and hovels, the main problem of this settlement was water.

The low elevation made it impossible to conduct water from the city canals, because it would flood the area. Thus, the Armenians were obliged to carry their water from a distance of up to three kilometers.

“Until a couple of years ago, their water was supplied from the subterranean canal, which originated near the USSR Embassy. However, today, this canal has been closed by the USSR Embassy,” the CIA said.

“These Armenians are exposed 24 hours a day to Communist propaganda and Tadeh Party members who incite them to revolts and riots.”

The CIA this week released more than 12 million pages of declassified files about its activities between the 1940s and the 1990s. The huge electronic archive, now open to the public for the first time, gives insights into several decades of Washington’s foreign policy, including some of the most important events in U.S., history, like the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War and U.S. conflicts with Vietnam and Korea.

Source: PanARMENIAN.Net

Benefits of the multimodal transport of goods presented to Ambassador of Iran

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Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of Armenia Vahan Martirosyan has met on Friday with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyyed Kazem Sajjad.

According to the release of the ministry, at the meeting attended also by rail operator of Armenia South Caucasus Railway (SCR) CEO Sergey Valko, Minister Martirosyan has presented the benefits of the multimodal transport of the goods through the territory of Armenia, specifically the program of the transport of the goods from Iran to Europe and back via Armenia with Mr. Valko indicating some of the benefits of the mentioned route.

In particular, the safety and the easy access of multimodal goods transportation was highlighted. The minister suggested the Iranian Ambassador to present the opportunity to the business community of Iran and encourage closer cooperation in the sphere of cargo transportation.

The Ambassador of Iran stressed he had visited Yeraskh station and got familiarized with the terminal capacities, expressing readiness to present the advantages of the transport route to Iranian businessmen as an efficient model.

The release next said Minister Martirosyan suggested to organize a round table discussion with the participation of the business representatives of the two countries to reinvigorate the business links.

The Ambassador of Iran on his part informed about the planned visit of the delegation of Iranian businessmen to Armenia. Preparation works of the Iranian Communication Minister’s visit to Armenia were on the agenda of the meeting as well, the ministry said.

 

Source Panorama.am

Prospects of Armenia-Iran-Turkmenistan trilateral cooperation discussed

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Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received on Monday Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyed Kazem Sadjadi and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan Muhammetniyaz Mashalov.

Acccording to the government press release, welcoming the guests, the Prime Minister noted that the high level of Armenia’s political relations with Iran and Turkmenistan makes it possible to establish both closer bilateral economic ties, and expand trilateral economic cooperation.

“We are interested in the development of Armenia-Iran-Turkmenistan trilateral economic cooperation. We have the opportunity to increase the growth of trade turnover between our countries, and this meeting being held on the first working day of 2017 is the evidence of the importance of our cooperation,” the Prime Minister noted.

The Ambassadors of Iran and Turkmenistan congratulated the Prime Minister and the people of Armenia on the New Year, noting that the governments of their countries are keen to expand relations with Armenia and stand ready to discuss further steps in that direction.

The meeting focused on the possibilities and prospects for the development of trilateral cooperation in the field of power engineering. The interlocutors discussed issues related to energy supply and joint projects. During the exchange of opinions, the parties reached an agreement to set up a joint working group and discuss practical and concrete programs.

Thanking the Ambassadors for their respective positions, Karen Karapetyan highlighted the active work of the intergovernmental commissions, which provide an effective platform for discussing and implementing issues and initiatives of common interest.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan expressed condolences to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Armenia on the demise of former IRI president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

 

Source Panorama.am

Sargsyan: Newly independent Armenia-Iran state relations were established during Rafsanjani’s tenure

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YEREVAN. – President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, on Monday issued a message of condolences to President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, on the passing of former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

“Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will remain in the memory of the Armenian people as the neighboring country’s president, during whose tenure the first state relations between newly independent Armenia and Iran were established, giving new impetus to age-old friendly relations of our two peoples.

“Today, we continue expanding and deepening our cooperation on the solid foundation that was established in those years,” reads the Armenian President’s message of condolence.

Breaking: Former Iran president Rafsanjani dies of heart attack-state media

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Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani passes away due to heart disease.

Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died in hospital in Tehran where he was taken after suffering a heart attack on Sunday, state media reported.

State-run Press TV said Rafsanjani, 82, died despite efforts by doctors to save him.

Residents said a crowd gathered outside the hospital where Rafsanjani was taken in the Tajrish neighbourhood in northern Tehran.

Rafsanjani was an influential figure in Iran, and headed the Expediency Council, a body which is intended to resolve disputes between the parliament and the Guardian Council. He was also a member of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that selects the supreme leader, Iran’s most powerful figure.

Rafsanjani has been described as “a pillar of the Islamic revolution.” His pragmatic policies – economic liberalization, better relations with the West and empowering Iran’s elected bodies – appealed to many Iranians but was despised by hardliners.

His death is a big blow to moderates and reformists, depriving them of their most influential supporter in the Islamic establishment.

Since 2009 he and his family have faced criticism over their support for the opposition movement which lost that year’s disputed election to former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Alison Williams and Stephen Powell)