RA Prime Minister par- Armenian-RF friendship ticipates in action on may serve example for refuse collection at other states – leader Hrazdan gorge Page 3 PAGE 4 HIGHLIGHTS

Weekly Digest of the Government of Armenia

31 May - 6 June, 2010 THEMA

“Quote of the week”

“Today relations between Armenia and Russia are based on a firm founda- tion. I am sure that we will continue to strengthen re- lations”

Serzh Sargsyan President of RA

Reformation of the pension system were dis- Upcoming Events cussed at the working meeting invited by the June 9: PM to President of Armenia participate in the opening cer- emony of DigiTech eformation of the pension system and system reforms for the state budget, tax burden for possible solutions to the existing prob- businesses, and levels of income taxation. They R June 10: PM Tigran Sargsyan to lems were discussed today at the working also spoke about the efficient management of participate RF Day in Armenia meeting invited by the President of Armenia. the accumulative pension fund, deposit security President Sargsyan said that with initiating a guarantees, and accessibility of the services relat- June 26 - July 6: International substantial reformation such as this one, the ed to the introduction of the system for the public. state is required to discuss all the pertinent At the conclusion of the meeting, President Open Chess Tournament in Jermuk issues, find proper solutions, and to assess once again underscored the possible risks. Serzh Sargsyan underlined necessity to discuss the concept of the pen- July 11-18: The seventh an- that all state structures, which are involved sion system reformation with different social nual Golden Apricot in the reformation of the pension system, groups – workers, students and the others: “The International Film Festival should display the utmost persistence in concept may be well designed, however only devising and implementing these reforms. walking it through with the people will make The Deputy Finance Minister Vartan Ara- it possible to get a need amount of confidence mian and Deputy Minister of Labor and to implement it. Clarifications provided by the USEFUL LINKS Social issues Artem Asatrian gave clarifica- mass media are not enough. A significant change tions regarding issues and concerns raised such as this one may raise many questions, thus • www.president.am by the President of Armenia at the previous the society should be provided with the oppor- • www.gov.am meeting, which were based on relevant stud- tunity to raise these issues and receive inclusive • www.parliament.am ies, mid-term and long-term assessments. answers. Only then the citizens will trust the • www.mfa.am In particular, the participants of the meeting new system,” the President of Armenia said. • www.panarmenian.net discussed possible outcome of the pension www.president.am • www.matenadaran.am ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS CHRONICA Presidents of Armenia and Russia hold official meeting Headlines of n May 31, Armenia’s President the week OSerzh Sargsyan met with heads of parliamentary delegations of the • MAY 31: Cross to be fixed on Collective Security Treaty Organiza- Holy Cross Church in Akhtamar tion (CSTO) member-countries, who AH arrived in Yerevan to participate in a • JUNE 1: Armenia to de- visiting meeting of the CSTO Parlia- velop relations with Canada mentary Assembly. Serzh Sargsyan AH • JUNE 1: Establishment of Atat- noted that Armenia attaches impor- urk monument in Buenos Aires tance to integration processes within insults Argentinean society the CSTO. “Armenia’s National As- AH sembly has already approved 30 out liamentary Assembly, Russian State • JUNE 1: Arsen Gevorgyan, Haru- of 31 agreements signed within the Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov noted tyun Dermishyan win bronze at CSTO,” the President stressed. Even that the meeting of the CSTO PA in international judo tournament large countries are sometimes unable Yerevan is the first visiting one. Par- AH to tackle numerous challenges, he said, ticipants of the meeting also stated that • JUNE 1: Russia appoints new Mili- adding that the process of integration the meeting will serve as a new stimu- tary Attaché to Armenia Armenia implemented within the Organization lus for the CSTO PA, the RA Presi- AH • JUNE 2: Lebanon to develop is very important for such countries, as dent’s press service reported. trade and economic relations Armenia. Chairman of the CSTO Par- www.panarmenian.net AH • JUNE 2: Head of OSCE Office in RA Prime Minister Visits Exhibition Dedicated to Children’s Day Yerevan discusses justice sector re- form with RA Minister of Justice tal press service told Armenpress that the AH exhibition is conducted under the high • JUNE 3: Armenia, Romania to de- patronage of the Prime Minister. It is velop bilateral cooperation organized with the support of the Arme- AH nian Culture Ministry, Armenian State • JUNE 4: Eurovision over, pas- Museum of Folk Art, Artists’ Union, sions continue (analitics) Araratian Patriarchal Diocese and with AH the sponsorship of “ArmenTel” CJSC. • JUNE 5: 39,7% agricul- Tigran Sargsyan walked around in the tural production growth ob- rmenian Prime Minister Tigran served in April 2010 in Armenia Sargsyan participated today in the halls of the museum and got acquainted A with the works of the self-taught art fig- Armenian State Museum of Folk Art AH in the opening of an exhibition of folk ures presented in the branches of paint- ing, sculpture, wood-cutting, embroi- works dedicated to the International Vic Darchinyan wants to Children’s Day. Armenian governmen- dery, etc. defend titles in Armenia www.armenpress.am fter a victory over Eric Barce- Armenia, China to develop cooperation in healthcare sphere Alona at Parramatta Leagues Club n June 2, Deputy Foreign Minis- mutual support promotes strengthen- for IBO Bantamweight world title, Vic Oter of Armenia Karine Kazinian ing of trust atmosphere between Ar- Darchinyan (34-2-2, 27 KOs) will take met with Vice Commerce Minister of menia and China. Parties discussed on Fernando Montiel in September 2010. China Fu Ziying. During the meet- expansion of collaboration in vari- “The bout had to take place earlier but was ing, Karine Kazinian gave positive as- ous spheres, including cooperation in postponed due to my thumb injury. Montiel sessment to Armenia-China relations, healthcare. RA Healthcare Minister is a strong boxer. He has WBO and WBC expressing confidence they could be Harutyun Kushkyan participated in belts, and I will fight for them,” Darchin- taken to qualitatively new level. Fu the meeting, RA MFA press service yan told reporters in Yerevan on June 4. Ziying, in turn, noted that current lev- reported. He also said that he want to defend his el of bilateral political dialogue and www.panarmenian.net titles in Armenia, although is will not be an easy task to persuade the organizers. “Glendale Hills” to Construct about 1300 Apartments in Lori Province Asked bout future plans, Darchinyan ithin the frameworks of a state ties of Lori province and Spitak town for said that upon completion of his box- Wprogram on dwelling construc- the families left homeless as a result of ing career, he is going to be a pro- tion, “Glendale Hills” CJSC will con- the 1988 earthquake. moter and help Armenian boxers. struct apartments in 24 rural communi- www.armenpress.am www.panarmenian.net

2 AH ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS RES PUBLICA RA Prime Minister to make presentation at BarCamp conference in Yer- evan CBA, Police to exchange interest for internet entrepreneurship has data on vehicle insur- been observed this year. On June 6, Ar- menian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan ance issues will deliver a presentation in a capacity of a blogger. Alexey Chalabyan anticipates bar camp to become an annual event based on the interest aroused. The conference is held with the assistance of Armenian gov- ernment, Microsoft, iCon Communica- n June 5, BarCamp 2010 IT conference tions, Marketing solutions SP and Institute Oin Yerevan featured presentations on for Political and Sociological Consulting. issues including geolocation, website mon- Last year, the event brought together blog- etization, information wars and security, gers, new media professionals, IT special- use of web tools in education. As one of ists, companies engaged in Internet and dig- event organizers Alexey Chalabyan, told ital technologies, journalists and students. PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, increased Full story www.panarmenian.net rmenian government has ap- Aproved the concept of co- Synopsys reports $338.1 million revenue for second operation between the Central quarter of 2010 second quarter of fiscal 2009, Synopsys Bank of Armenia and Police en- press service told PanARMENIAN.Net visaging database exchange. “Synopsys again delivered solid results this Prime Minister Tigran Sarg- quarter,” said Aart de Geus, chairman and syan hailed the measures aimed CEO of Synopsys. “While the customer to raise public awareness on backdrop remains cautious, we continue to the new law on vehicle insur- execute well on our strategy to address cus- ance taking effect January 1, 2011. tomer needs ranging from mainstream to ynopsys, Inc., a world leader in software CBA President Arthur Javadyan the most advanced silicon design flows, all Sand IP for semiconductor design, verifi- said for his part that the bank has cation and manufacturing, today reported re- the way to the rapidly growing IP and sys- tems space. This quarter we made particu- already developed a program includ- sults for its second quarter of fiscal year 2010. ing workshops and video materi- For the second quarter of fiscal 2010, Syn- lar progress in the latter, where we believe als to present the law to the public. opsys reported revenue of $338.1 mil- we have an especially promising outlook.” lion compared to $336.8 million for the Full story www.panarmenian.net www.panarmenian.net RA Prime Minister participates in action on refuse col- lection at Hrazdan gorge India to finance Armenian film on A representative of the Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection reported to Tigran Sarg- Genocide syan on programs implemented on June 5. irector of Armenia’s National The June 5 action marked the start of Cinema Center Gevorg Gevor- Three Bridges project, a part of Clean D Motherland national program developed gyan said that India displayed inter- by an interdepartmental group. The pro- est towards creation of a feature film gram envisages implementation of eco- on the by 2015. logical projects throughout Armenia. According to Gevorgyan, Prokash Clean Motherland program is coordinated by Sharma independent production the Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection center expressed readiness to invest in partnership with the Ministry of Emer- unlimited funds, if the Armenian n June 5, the International Day of En- gency Situations, Yerevan Mayor’s Office, side submits a ready script, as the vironmental Protection, Armenian O Miasin and Clean Yerevan NGOs, World film should comply with the world Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan partici- Wildlife Fund, youth wing of the Repub- standards to secure wide distribution. pated in Clean Motherland action foresee- lican Party of Armenia, as well as profes- ing refuse collection at Hrazdan gorge. sional structures and enterprises operating at “Albert Mkrtchyan is collecting ma- “Clean Motherland is an important project. We Hrazdan gorge. New refuse bins, as well as terials for the film. Supposedly, he should take action to implement this initiative plates of Hrazdan gorge’s flora and fauna are will become the film director. How- also in Armenia’s regions,” stressed Sargsyan. scheduled to be set as part of the program. ever, the film may have several di- The Prime Minister also referred to the prob- Control over the cleaned territories rectors. We also invited foreign lem of cleanness of Hrazdan gorge’s territo- will be implemented upon comple- script writers,” Gevorkyan stressed. ries owned by enterprises. He said that it is tion of the program, the press serv- www.panarmenian.net important to toughen measures against those ice of the RA government reported. citizens, who do not respect their Motherland. www.panarmenian.net

2 AH ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS PRO PATRIA Armenian-RF friendship may Armenian church sues Getty museum over Bible serve example for other pages states – leader cred book is located at the Mesrob Mashotots Madenataran museum in Yerevan, Armenia. The church's lawsuit contends the missing pages became part of a pri- vate collection of a family in Wa- tertown, Mass. They were loaned to the Pierpont Morgan Library, now known as the Morgan Library and Museum, in New York in 1994 for rmenian President Serzh Sargsyan an exhibition. Asaid a high level of mutual under- Michael Bazyler, a Chapman Uni- standing and trust with Russia could versity law professor and member serve an example for other countries. of the plaintiff’s legal team, said Sargsyan met with the Armenian Thursday that attorneys hope the community of South Russia in Ros- pages can be returned during nego- tov-on-Don, the presidential press tiation rather than litigation. service reported on Wednesday. “We contend these seven pages are “Today relations between Armenia he Armenian church has sued the stolen property, and they can never and Russia are based on a firm founda- TJ. Paul Getty Museum to demand get title,” Bazyler said. “We are tion. I am sure that we will continue to the return of seven pages ripped from asking for the return of the seven strengthen relations,” Sargsyan said. a sacred Armenian Bible dating back pages back to the church.” Jaskol, In his opinion, “It’s a reality, an obvious to 1256. The Western Prelacy of the Getty spokeswoman, said the advantage and a favourable condition the Armenian Apostolic Church of ownership of the pages has never for the development of our communi- America filed the lawsuit Tuesday in been questioned until now, and ties [Armenian community – Itar-Tass] Los Angeles. The lawsuit alleged the that “the Getty believes the lawsuit because there is an excellent friend- church had the Bible authenticated in is groundless and should be dis- ship between a new homeland, Russia, 1947 or 1948 and it was returned with missed.” and the historical homeland, Armenia.” the pages missing. Bazyler believes this is the first Moreover, Russia and Armenia It states the identity of the thief was case filed in the United States for “have reached a high level of mu- never determined. A spokeswoman the return of cultural or religious tual understanding and mutual trust for the Getty said the museum legally objects taken around the time of that may serve an example for oth- acquired the pages, which is known World War I, when historians esti- ers”, the Armenian president stressed. as the Canon Tables, in 1994 from mate that up to 1.5 million Armeni- www.itar-tass.com an anonymous private collector "af- ans were killed by Ottoman Turks. ter a thorough review of their prov- The event is widely viewed by Gazprom involved in enance." scholars as the first genocide of the Iran-Armenia oil pipeline "A notable Armenian scholar who 20th century. azprom is involved in the con- also was the primate of the Armenian denies that the deaths con- Gstruction of the oil pipeline be- Church of America acknowledged stituted genocide, saying the toll tween Iran and Armenia through its key details about the Canon Tables' has been inflated and those killed Armenian daughter company Armros- provenance in a 1943 article, includ- were victims of civil war and un- sGazprom . A joint Iranian-Armenian ing the fact that they were owned by rest. team is conducting a feasibility study. The pipe will be laid from the Tavriz oil an Armenian family in the United “It’s a matter of historical iden- refinery to the Armenian town of Eraskh, States," spokeswoman Julie Jaskol tity and preservation of the Arme- nian culture,” said Western Prelacy where an oil storage terminal will be con- said. structed. Armenia, Iran and Russia will board member Levon Kirakosian. The seven illustrated pages by T'oros jointly implement this project, which un- Roslin were once part of the hand- “It’s important everyone realizes der preliminary estimates will cost USD written Armenian Bible known as the that.” 200-240 million. The existing Iran-Ar- "Zeyt'un Gospels." The rest of the sa- Full story www.washingtonpost.com menia pipeline infrastructure will be used. www.messenger.com.ge "Armenia Highlights" is compiled in association with DISCLAIMER: Views expressed in "Armenia Highlights" do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of Armenia.

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