Time in Yerevan: 11:07,   19 March 2024

BBC publishes article on Armenia

BBC publishes article on Armenia

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS: The famous British BBC prepared a special article about Armenia and the place of it in the world society. Armenpress reports that the BBC correspondent toured along the London streets trying to clarify from the passers-by what do they know about Armenia.
A couple from Saudi Arabia had heard of Armenia but only knew it was in Asia, while a Danish woman told me that "we never hear about it in Denmark." But the most amusing was a man with his family from the United States, who could only tell me that "all the people's names end in '-ian'." His wife was quick to tell me he based that on the celebrity Kim Kardashian. Only one of the people I spoke to knew much about Armenia, and that was a woman from Paris who had been to the capital, Yerevan, and said, "It is a small country and its people have suffered a lot."
Enlisting people around the world who have Armenian roots to raise the country's profile could prove effective. Famous people with connections to Armenia include the singer Cher, tennis player Andre Agassi, billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian and the late Steve Jobs of Apple.
"The Armenian Diaspora sees itself in many ways as the second army of the Republic of Armenia," says Aram Suren Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, based in Washington DC. "Armenians spread around the world and prospered wherever they went, and they haven't forgotten their roots and they try to stay connected - and that is part of the soft power of the Armenian nation."
Touching upon the economy of Armenia, the journalist states that money sent home by expatriate workers is also a major driver of economic activity, and accounts for one-fifth of Armenia's economy. "Remittances from Armenian workers living abroad are very important, it provides resources, US dollars, to fund imports in Armenia and to fund consumption," says Teresa Daban Sanchez, the IMF's resident representative in Yerevan. Yet "90% of remittances come from Russia," she adds - underlining the country's trade links with Russia.
However, Armenia's economic development is hindered because its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed. Being blocked from trading with Turkey, one of the region's biggest economies, is a big barrier to growth. Reopening the borders would transform Armenia's economy, says Ms. Daban Sanchez. "Opening them, especially the border with Turkey, will really be a game changer, because Turkey's a large diversified economy with access to European markets."
The reasons the borders are shut lie in two 20th Century conflicts. During World War One, between 1915 and 1917, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians died at the hands of Ottoman Turks. Yerevan wants Turkey to recognize the deaths as genocide and some countries have done so, but Ankara insists there was no genocide and that the dead were victims of the war.  It remains a highly sensitive issue”, - writes BBC. It also touches upon the Karabakh conflict since 1988.
Concerning the tourism potential BBC wrote that the country could attract more visitors and perhaps more business for travel agents. "People will get an idea of what it's like," says Gillian Leaning, marketing manager at the UK travel company Regent Holidays.
"They'll see images of the ancient monasteries and they'll hear about the rolling valleys of the Lesser Caucasus, or what it's like to taste the country's brandy in Yerevan. "So they'll be far more likely to choose it as a destination for their next holiday."
In addition to boosting tourism, positive stories online could also catch the attention of possible foreign investors and to quote an old Armenian proverb: "Whatever the eye sees, the heart won't forget”.








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