The importance of Iran to Armenia cannot be understated. Still blockaded by neighbors Turkey and Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic remains one of Armenia’s only access points to the outside world. This leaves Yerevan to navigate difficult diplomatic waters as tensions between Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States escalate to a near boiling point. After the United States unilaterally pulled out of the landmark Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Iran has again become subject to sanctions which aim to severely damage Iran’s economy and limit its options for trading with key partners, such as Armenia. Armenia’s partnership with Iran remains also marked by Russian influence and the desire to regionally balance Azerbaijan and Turkey.

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The relationship between international migration and human capital is central to any research on migration and economic development. It is also of vital importance to labour markets, particularly for countries with high rates of emigration or immigration (Collyer et al., 2013 ). The extensive desk review process was contributed by the interviews held with different experts and practitioners from different EU member states – Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Malta between May – June 2014.

The findings suggest a demand for policy measures to support migrants in order to ensure a more efficient job and skills-matching process. Instruments are needed to facilitate third-country nationals’ integration into labour market. The public-private partnership development is discussed as an instrument for the integration.  Other policy measures related to education and skills enhancements are required, targeted training, apprenticeship and mentorship schemes are recommended to be developed. At the same time, more attention should be paid to the recognition mechanisms of qualifications and skills, which might decrease the underutilization of skills not only for highly educated individuals, but also for those with medium education levels and vocational education and training (VET) qualifications. Thus, development of the mechanisms on skills enhancement, recruitment, placement of TCNs through the public-private partnership will foster integration of third-country nationals into labour market. The specific policy actions are needed in the areas of employment including the process of obtaining the work permit, skills and labour market integration of migrants to decrease the costs and increase the benefits of migration.

Intellectual Property (IP) field in the Republic of Armenia (RA) has been developing since its independence declared at the beginning of 1990^th. Currently, almost all of IP-related legislation is in conformity with the internationally recognized principles and rules.