Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Open Its Own School

Armenian Public Radio reports that in the framework of the European Union’s new program called Eastern Partnership, the EU will send a group of advisers to Armenia next March.

The Eastern Partnership allows partner countries such as Armenia to request advice and assistance to accelerate and improve their progression on specific roadmaps called “Neighborhood Policy Action Plan” that they have previously negotiated and established with the European Commission.

According to Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Arman Kirakosian, “assistance will be provided to the Government, the National Assembly, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Transportation and Communications, the State Revenues Agency, as well as the Office of the Human Rights Defender.”

In other words, the fields of education and research and the relevant administration, the Ministry of Education and Science, will once again be left out despite urgent need for foreign expertise and assistance to deal with the transformation of primary and secondary education – Armenia is moving from 10 to 12 year schooling system, expansion of the vocational training options, and implementation of various reforms in the country’s higher education sector and research infrastructure – both in total chaos and collapse.

Entering through the Back Door

The field of education will nevertheless be present as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to use the proposed assistance to establish a diplomatic academy.

“We intend to create a school of diplomacy within the Ministry in order to prepare high-quality cadres. For that purpose we had applied to the EU asking for assistance,” Mr. Kirakosian said. The program will be financed by the European Commission, and will be implemented jointly with the UNDP.

This is of course a bad news for existing programs in International Affairs and Political Science such as the ones offered at Yerevan State University as the Ministry has traditionally been one of the main employers of their graduates.

The initiative shows that even state agencies do not rely on the existing institutions of higher education, including public universities. “In order to prepare high-quality cadres” the Ministry wants to establish and run its own school. Other graduates will need to plan for lower level positions at the Ministry.

I wonder what will happen if other ministries and state agencies follow this example.

To learn more on the European Neighborhood Policy concerning Armenia including the Action Plan and the National Indicative Program 2007-2010, please click here.
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Nuclear Collaboration with Turkey?

Multiple Turkish sources: Zaman Turkish daily calls it “another sign of the warming atmosphere between Ankara and Yerevan” and other newspapers report it with much surprise. Apparently, the Armenian Prime Minister Mr. Tigran Sargsian has called on Turkey to join a tender for the construction of a new reactor for Armenia’s future nuclear power plant. The new plant will replace the existing Metzamor plant.

"In addition to our strategic partner, Russia, we also want our neighbor Turkey to participate in the construction of the power plant, which will help stability in our region," Sargsian was quoted as saying by Russian daily Nezavisimaya, the CNN-Türk news channel reported on 2 March 2009. The PM stressed the economic and political importance of the power plant.

The Turkish side is expecting official confirmation of Sargsian's public call, the Nezavisimaya report said, citing unnamed sources in Ankara. "There is a possibility of accepting Yerevan's proposal," a high-level Turkish official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

According to Milliyet Turkish daily, via Hurriyet Turkish daily, Armenian MP Mr. Armen Martirosian said the participation of Turkish companies in the tender would have positive outcomes for regional cooperation.

The strange aspect of this story, as noted by Professor Ruben Safrastian of the Institute of Oriental Studies, is that Turkey has no experience in nuclear technology.

"I do not believe that there will be an official proposal," Mr. Safrastian told Nevazisimaya. "In any case, I do not know what Turkey could offer technologically."

Armenia’s Metzamor power plant was built in 1976 with technology no longer considered acceptable by contemporary safety standards. The plant was closed after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, but reopened in 1993 due to energy shortages in the country. The plant currently meets about 40 percent of Armenia’s energy demand. It has been operated by Russia's Inter RAO UES since 2003 as part of a 10-year contract.

In 2007, the Armenian government approved a plan to shut down the Metzamor plant by 2016 and replace it with a new one. The construction of the new plant could start as early as 2011.

The Armenian Energy and Natural Resources Ministry estimated the value of the project at about 5 billion USD. The deadline for filing bids is 1 April 2009. Armenia's parliament abolished a state monopoly on the ownership of new reactors in 2006 in an effort to attract foreign investment. So far, Russia, the U.S. and France have shown interest in the project.
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