UNPRECEDENTED GOAL FOR THIRD ARMENIA-DIASPORA FORUM

Lragir.am
08 June 06

On September 18-20 the Third Armenia-Diaspora Forum will take place
in Armenia. Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan was the first to inform
the public about the details of organization of the forum. On June
8 he met with news reporters for this purpose. The foreign minister
of Armenia thinks that the third forum is an excellent opportunity to
sum up the benefits of the previous two forums. Adding that the third
forum overlaps with the 15th anniversary of independence of Armenia,
Vardan Oskanyan emphasizes that unlike the previous two the third
forum will be held in a quite new reality. According to the minister,
the new reality is the new quality and institutional level of the
Armenia-Diaspora relations. According to the minister, this suggests
that the Armenia -Diaspora potential has become more powerful and is
able to solve new problems. And the third forum will attend to this
new problem, which is economic. Vardan Oskanyan says our Diasporan
compatriots will be invited to initiate investment programs in rural
communities in Armenia.

“Presently, the economic growth is gathering momentum in Armenia.

In fact, the growth of our economy is rather high. At the same time,
all of us can see and realize that this growth does not cover rural
communities, which is visible to anyone who visits Armenia. This is
a major obstacle for an even development of the country. Therefore
we think that this worries our Diasporan compatriots,” says Vardan
Oskanyan.

The Third Armenia-Diaspora Forum will open on September 18 with
a plenary meeting and marked by the speeches of the presidents of
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the Catholicos of All Armenians
and the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. The September
19 meeting will be devoted to rural problems. The final meeting on
September 20 will be devoted to general issues. A forum will be held,
entitled New Answer to Old Questions for the Nation State of the 21st
Century. Vardan Oskanyan says the forum will discuss dual nationality,
language, national identity, and other problems.

The Third Armenia-Diaspora Forum will be open to everyone who would
like to take part in it. Applications can be submitted to the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, the Secretariat on Diaspora, or via the official
website of the ministry.