$5 MILLION PLEDGED FOR HAY DAT ACTIVITIES

Yerkir
03.02.2009 13:08

Yerevan (Yerkir) – A fundraising dinner held in Dubai has received
pledges for $5 million to support the activites of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation’s Hay Dat office in Europe (including Russia
and CIS), and Middle East. This is twice the total amount raised in
two previous events in Geneva in 2001 and in Paris in 2005.

The dinner, presided over by Cilicia Catholicos Aram I, was held at
Dubai’s International Hotel-Festival City on January 31. Many ARF
members as well as businessmen and supporters from Armenia, Middle
East, Europe, Russia and other places joined the event. The total
number of the donors was 250.

>From the Republic of Armenia, ARF member ministers Arsen Hambardzumian,
Aramayis Grigorian and Spartak Seyranyan were present. They were
joined by ARF lawmakers from Armenia and other countries as well as
ranking ARF members from around the globe.

The opening remarks were made by Shahe Parsumian, one of the keynote
speakers, who thanked all those present for their great support. He
was followed by Hrayr Soghomoian, who read out the list of the donors.

Armenian Minister of Science and Education Spartak Seyranian read
Armenian President Serzh Sargsian’s address. He then was followed by
ARF bureau member and the leader of the ARF parliamentary faction,
Vahan Hovhannisian, and ARF Bureau representative Hrant Margarian.

Catholicos Aram I delivered his speech at the end of the event,
praised the Armenian authorities’ efforts in pursuing the Hay Dat.