President Vahagn Khachaturyan's working visit to the United States of America

During his working visit to the United States, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with representatives of the Armenian Assembly of America David Ojakian and John Kevranian.

Welcoming Ojakian, President Khachaturyan highly appreciated the long-term patriotic activities of the organization, whose goal has always been the development and strengthening of Armenia, which has no political or polarized orientation. In his speech, the President stressed that although the activities of the Assembly have not always been advertised and made public, however, it plays a big role in the development agenda of Armenia and thus deserves a higher commendation.

During the meeting, the sides stressed the importance of the most equal distribution of the initiatives implemented by the Assembly and sectoral diversity, as a result of which such programs covered education, science, youth development, social sphere, post-earthquake reconstruction and many other spheres.

Over the course of the conversation, the sides touched upon the importance of providing objective and comprehensive information to the organizations of the Armenian Diaspora regarding the realities in Armenia. In this context, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan presented details about Armenia and regional developments, as well as about the border demarcation work carried out in Tavush, the main task of which is to establish stable and lasting peace in the region. In his speech, the President also touched upon the details of the "Crossroads of Peace" program put forward by Armenia and stressed that this is a mutually beneficial project for all countries of the region. 

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During his visit to the United States, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with Yervant Zorian, the President of the AGBU Silicon Valley Branch and Synopsys Armenia.

During the meeting, Yervant Zorian presented to the President the programs and startups implemented by Synopsys in Armenia since the early 2000s and touched upon current initiatives as well.

During the conversation, issues related to the existing close and effective cooperation between Silicon Valley and the Republic of Armenia were discussed. In this context, the issues of promoting and combining efforts necessary to start semiconductor production in cooperation with the American side were also touched upon.

In his speech, President Vahagn Khachaturyan presented details about the share of the Information Technology sector in the Armenian economy and its important role.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the application of information technologies in the state administration system of Armenia and the ongoing work on digitalization, which, along with the state administration efficiency improvement, will be an important step in reducing and preventing corruption in this area.

During the conversation, the sides stressed the importance of investments made in the field of education in cooperation with representatives of the education system and the information technology, and steps aimed at implementing educational programs.

In his speech, President Vahagn Khachaturyan touched upon the activities of the Armenian General Benevolent Union over the decades. The President of the Republic highly appreciated the role of the AGBU in the realization of numerous programs implemented in the establishment and strengthening of the statehood of Armenia, the preservation of the Armenian identity, in education, social and other spheres.

The President expressed confidence that the AGBU will continue its important mission in strengthening Armenia's statehood, Diaspora-Armenia ties.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan stressed the special importance of the non-party nature of the activities of the Armenian General Benevolent Union and the principled position of always being by the side of the statehood and contributing to the development of Armenia.

The President of the Republic stressed the importance of close cooperation between the state bodies of Armenia and the AGBU in all possible spheres, and expressed readiness to contribute to the implementation of the initiatives and programs of the AGBU within the scope of his powers.

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President Vahagn Khachaturyan, who is on a working visit to the US state of California, visited the Armenian Church of St. Andrew in Cupertino and took part in the liturgy.

Accompanied by Parish Priest Fr. Datev Harutyunian, the President of the Republic also visited the center next to the Church and met with children attending the Saturday School of the Church, employees of the center-school.

The President welcomed the attendees and noted in his speech. "Peoples and nations exist as far as they preserve and give life to the customs and traditions. If our customs are gone, we simply lose our value system.

It is extremely important to carry our customs with us wherever we live. It is of great importance to pass them on to the young and next generations.

I am glad that there are kids, teenagers here who have adopted our Armenian customs through dance or song and will pass them on to the next generations. Thank you for everything I see here."

Touching upon the events taking place in Armenia, the President, in particular, said: "I can assure you that we, as the Republic of Armenia and as representatives of the government of the Republic of Armenia, bear great responsibility for the preservation, strengthening and passing our statehood on to the next generations... We want to be a full-fledged state and face certain difficulties. And in this matter, the most important thing is unity, solidarity, not hurting each other, listening to each other. We are strong when we are more united and will succeed, when the perception of all of us is the same, namely, to act and do what we have to do for the sake of the Republic of Armenia."

Addressing Parish Priest Fr. Datev Harutyunian, the President expressed the wish that "the Church continued to be guided by the Christian values that it had always been guided by." "This is a very important mission that is actually very hard to accomplish in today's complex world. We face challenges as Christians, and we shouldn’t be at enmity with other religions during these challenges. We, as Armenians, have been able to maintain our existence because we are a truly religiously tolerant nation. Our opposing countries always try to present that our struggle against them has been religious. However, in fact, our struggle in our history has not been religious. We have been a religiously tolerant people. Especially in the Middle East and the Arab world, we are also accepted because we have great religious tolerance. And I hope that we will follow this path, because our preachers, in the person of the Armenian Apostolic Church, could not lead us in any other way," the President said, wishing everyone success and many achievements.

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During his working visit to the US state of California, President Vahagn Khachaturyan met with representatives of the Armenian Community of San Francisco and adjacent districts.

In his opening remarks, the President briefly presented the general state and trends in the development of the Armenian economy. The President of the Republic, in particular, touched upon the representativeness and role of the information technology sector in the economic system of the country, bearing in mind that the working activities of representatives of the Community present at the meeting relate specifically to this area.

President Khachaturyan attached great importance to the meetings with the Armenian Community, emphasizing the irreplaceable role and importance of the Diaspora for the Republic of Armenia.

In the course of questions and answers, the President touched in detail on the objectives of his visit, the meetings and discussions held during the visit, the events and developments taking place in Armenia, and also spoke about the need to fully utilize the potential of the Diaspora.

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The President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan visited "Silicon Valley" in the US state of California and toured the "NVIDIA" company.

Accompanied by the Organization’s Vice President Rev Lebaredian and Director Verjin Karaoglu, The President of the Republic got acquainted with the exhibition organized by the Company.

During the meeting, President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Jensen Huang, CEO and founder of "NVIDIA", highly appreciated the close cooperation between the Organization and the Republic of Armenia. They also touched upon the issues regarding the further expansion of cooperation in the IT sector and the prospects for implementing joint programs.

Jensen Huang emphasized that the IT sector in Armenia has great potential for development, which provides an opportunity for deepening further cooperation.

During the conversation, issues related to the prospects of expanding the involvement of well-known representative organizations in the high-tech sector in Armenia were discussed.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan emphasized in his speech that in recent years, the field of information technology has significantly influenced the economy of the Republic of Armenia, showing a positive development trend. The President noted that the high-tech sector is one of the targeted directions of Armenia's economic policy and receives multifaceted support from the state, as needed.

Over the course of the conversation, a reference was made to the interaction between the IT sector and the education system, as well as the opportunities of promoting investments in the development of high-tech and engineering education.

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President Vahagn Khachaturyan, who is on a working visit to the US state of California, visited the Synopsis Company in Silicon Valley.

At the meeting with the President and CEO of the Company, Sassine Ghazi, the President of the Republic highly appreciated the almost two decades of vigorous activity of Synopsis in the field of high technologies, education, social and other spheres and effective cooperation with the Armenian side.

In his speech, the President of the Republic noted: "Synopsis has provided us with very important assistance, bringing an innovative spirit, a new working style and modern principles of operation.

I want to emphasize one important fact: all Synopsis initiatives and programs have an institutional and systemic basis, and it is for this reason as well that the Company shows a special approach to education, investing heavily in this sphere.

We hope your example will be contagious to others in the field as well. Let's also hope that as a result of our joint efforts, our educational system will be able to meet the existing demand in this sphere, and mutually, using the example of Synopsis, our educational system will also undergo changes for the better.

I would also like to express my gratitude for the social and humanitarian activities carried out by Synopsis, and in this regard, I want to thank Synopsis and all those organizations that have extended a helping hand and contributed to the humanitarian support of our compatriots forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh."

President of the Company Sassine Ghazi, thanking for the kind words and appreciation, noted that he highly and effectively appreciates the stable and developing cooperation established between Synopsis and the Republic of Armenia not only in the field of information technology, but also in education, science and other related fields.

Sassine Ghazi noted that Synopsis Armenia occupies a unique and leading position in the large family of the Company, which is a significant result of close bilateral cooperation.

During the meeting, the sides touched upon achievements in the field of high technology, education and related fields, current and future programs, as well as directions for further expansion of cooperation.

The sides noted the importance of theoretical and practical cooperation between representatives of the IT sector and Armenian educational institutions, as well as the expansion of joint programs aimed at training specialists.

During the conversation, the sides exchanged views on the democratic reforms carried out in Armenia in recent years and their results. In this context, President Vahagn Khachaturyan noted that the steps aimed at establishing democratic institutions, economic reforms and measures had a direct positive impact on creating a more favorable environment for business and promoting investments.

The President also added that such positive developments, as well as the steps taken by the Armenian government aimed at developing the high-tech sector, are an additional opportunity and create favorable conditions for activating sectoral investments.

At the end of the meeting, President Vahagn Khachaturyan extended an invitation to Sassine Ghazi to visit Armenia, if possible, for which a series of events planned for the current year dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the foundation of Synopsis Armenia may also be a good opportunity.

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Within the framework of his working visit to the USA, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with California Governor Gavin Newsom in Sacramento.

At the start of the meeting, Gavin Newsom welcomed President Vahagn Khachaturyan and thanked him for his visit to California. In turn, the President of the Republic thanked for the warm welcome.

During the conversation, the sides highly appreciated the more than three decades of close and multifaceted cooperation between Armenia and the United States in all spheres. It was stressed that the Armenian Community, which is mainly represented in California, plays a special role in Armenian-American relations.

In his speech, President Vahagn Khachaturyan stressed that the multisectoral cooperation with the United States and, in particular, with the State of California is of particular importance for Armenia in a number of aspects.

The President noted that the high-tech sector has significantly strengthened its position in the Armenian economy in recent years, and since a number of the largest companies in this field are represented in California, in Silicon Valley, it became necessary to stimulate cooperation between Armenia and California.

During the meeting, Governor Gavin Newsom got interested in the development of Armenia's economic policy in recent years and, in particular, the measures implemented by the state in the period of the Covid-19 pandemic and after it.

In this regard, President Vahagn Khachaturyan noted that in the conditions of the pandemic crisis, the Armenian government has taken a number of steps that have allowed the country's economy to recover quickly in the post-crisis period.

The President stressed that the implementation of such programs has become possible as a result of democratic reforms and strengthening of democratic institutions implemented in the political and economic life of Armenia in recent years. In this context, Vahagn Khachaturyan, in the person of Gavin Newsom, thanked the top leadership of the United States for the support provided to Armenia by the United States in strengthening democracy and implementing democratic reforms.

During the conversation, the sides exchanged views on regional and global developments and existing challenges. Both sides stressed the imperative to resolve the hot conflicts through peaceful negotiation and search for solutions.

Touching upon the regional realities of the South Caucasus and the principles of Armenia's foreign policy, President Vahagn Khachaturyan reaffirmed Armenia's steadfastness and unequivocal position in building good-neighborly relations with its neighbors, which is also reflected in the border demarcation process, currently being carried out for the first time between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

At the end of the meeting, President Vahagn Khachaturyan invited Governor Gavin Newsom to visit Armenia at a convenient time for him, which will serve as an additional incentive for expanding cooperation between Armenia and California.

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Within the framework of his working visit to US state of California, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass.

Greeting the President, Mrs. Bass said: "We have an honor to welcome RA President Vahagn Khachaturyan in LA Mayor’s office today. As the sister city of Yerevan, Los Angeles supports Armenia and will continue to ensure the well-being of Armenians living in Los Angeles, providing them with the necessary support for prosperity. The United States and Armenia have a strong relationship based on common values and commitment to the democratic process, and we expect lasting and strong cooperation with Armenia and the Armenian people."

Expressing gratitude for the warm welcome and words, President Vahagn Khachaturyan noted: "We highly appreciate the dynamically developing cooperation between Armenia and the United States over the decades. Armenia has a special attitude towards California and Los Angeles, firstly, for the simple reason that one of the largest Armenian Communities in the United States is located in your state and, in particular, in Los Angeles, as well as due to a number of economic realities. I mean, in recent years the information technology sector has acquired a significant role in the Armenian economy, and in this regard, one of our priorities is to expand cooperation with major representatives of the IT sector located in California's Silicon Valley and promote their representativeness in Armenia.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank You, as well as the top leadership of the United States, for the support that the American side has been providing to Armenia recently, at this difficult time for our state. I am also confident that our meeting will be an additional incentive for the further development of effective cooperation between our countries."

The President of the Republic stressed that in conditions of shortfall in energy, Armenia pays special attention to the development of human intellectual capital.

During the meeting, the sides touched upon the opportunities and ways of applying the best American experience in Armenia within the framework of reforms carried out in local governments and community infrastructures. In this regard, the President of the Los Angeles City Council, Paul Krekorian, noted the expediency of implementing joint experience exchange and retraining programs for Los Angeles and Yerevan municipalities’ employees, as well as the importance of stimulating the start of taking necessary steps in this direction.

During the conversation, the sides exchanged views on the prospects of direct flights between the United States and Armenia and, in particular, the realization of such an opportunity for Los Angeles-Yerevan direction and the implementation of necessary steps.

Regional realities and developments were also touched upon at the meeting, in connection with which President Vahagn Khachaturyan reaffirmed Armenia's clear position on solving problems with its neighbors through peaceful negotiations, within the framework of fundamental international rights and norms, as well as the principles of peaceful coexistence.

"The basis of the implementation of Armenia's foreign policy is the necessary political will to achieve peace," the President noted.

At the end of the meeting, an agreement was reached to support the process of expanding cooperation between the two countries to the fullest.

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President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with the Primate of the Western Armenian Diocese in the USA, Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, welcoming the President's visit, noted that the presence of high-ranking government officials at the Primate's residence and, in general, the realization of opportunities for meetings with Diaspora organizations gives an additional impetus not only to strengthening business, spiritual and simple human relations between the state of Armenia and the Diaspora, but also inspires Armenians living far from their homeland in further stimulating their activities.

Archbishop Derderian noted in his speech. " Your visit here consider a visit to Your home. This house of prayer is equally Your house. With Your visit, You represent the Motherland and I am sure that in any place, any meeting, where You have the opportunity and honor to greet the children of our nation, You will also fill everyone's souls and essence with patriotism and will also renew their vow to loyalty to the Motherland.

Our word should be only a word of gratitude for Your visit. Our speech should also be a prayer for the God to always bless You, all those people who do their best for our statehood, for our Motherland to remain strong, unwavering and unbroken from all kinds of trials.

When faith is what guides us and true patriotism is what drives us to life, then we must overcome all kinds of difficulties. It is the motto, mission and goal of our life, and it should continue to be as a servant of the Armenian Church.

Through You, we address our prayer to all state personnel, to our native authorities, so that they remain strong, confident in their service, and our prayer for our nation.

The past years were not easy, they were full of trials, but the word of Christ, as well as the message of the Gospel, clearly tell us the following: through trials we become stronger, trials and difficulties have always been, there are today, there will be tomorrow, but this is not a reason for us to weaken, but on the contrary, trials must become experience, they should also strengthen us to become even more united, become one soul, one heart, one body, especially when our life, our service, our existence and conscious life is for the Motherland."

Expressing gratitude for the reception and "truthful words", President Vahagn Khachaturyan said: "Your words are very important for all of us, as well as for our state in these difficult times. I share Your point of view that, having really gone through the trials, we find the right way. Unfortunately, these trials have accumulated, especially after 2020, and have caused great difficulties, but we will gradually overcome them.

There is one important circumstance that I would like to talk about. The Armenian authorities have no problems with the church, and especially with the Armenian Apostolic Church. Neither today's authorities, nor tomorrow's, nor the day after tomorrow's can have problems with the church. Everyone is aware of this, because this is our history, and in this history the Armenian Apostolic Church has always occupied its place and role, no matter what. Now we have statehood, and we rely on the church to make this statehood stronger, because this statehood needs a soul. We ask you to always lead us on the righteous path. Be sure that the path chosen by today's government really leads to peace.

Our problem is very clear, we must be able to live with our neighbors, regardless of the problems we had in different historical periods. We cannot take Armenia and take it to another place, and we cannot force them to move either. It is a historically formed environment, with which we have had problems for thousands of years, we have had wars, but in the end, we exist and we will continue to exist."

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President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan received Tamar Poladian Perron, Chairman of the US West Coast Regional Committee of the Armenian Democratic Liberal (Ramgavar) Party and its representatives at his residence in Los Angeles.

At the beginning of the meeting, the President of the Republic, on behalf of the party's leadership, expressed gratitude for the consistent activities of the Ramgavar Liberal Party in the fields of preservation of the Armenian identity, education and many other spheres in the Diaspora. In his speech, President Vahagn Khachaturyan underscored that after the independence of Armenia, the party has always had a state-centric position and contributed and supported the establishment and strengthening of our statehood to the fullest.

The leadership of the traditional party, extending thanks for the reception, stressed that the political organization has readily put all its investments in the development and strengthening of Armenia.

Over the course of the meeting, a wide range of issues related to the challenges existing in Armenia and the Diaspora and ways to overcome them were discussed. The President of the Republic presented the Chairman and representatives of the Regional Committee of the Armenian Democratic Liberal (Ramgavar) Party details about the internal life of the country and the situation on the external front.

In an informal setting, the President answered the questions of the attendees, providing details about the economic, democratic, educational and other reforms implemented in Armenia in recent years.

During the conversation, reference was made to Armenia's relations with neighboring countries and, in particular, to the border demarcation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In this context, the President of the Republic stressed that the demarcation process that has begun is completely within the logic of Armenia's clear position on establishing good-neighborly relations with its neighbors and achieving stable peace.

Addressing inquiries, President Khachaturyan elaborated steps and measures aimed at improving defense capability, the main directions of the country's economy, as well as issues related to other areas.

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President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan hosted members of the Central Committee of the Social Democratic Hunchakian Party (SDHP), led by Chairman Hambik Sarafian, at his residence in Los Angeles.

Welcoming the guests, President Khachaturyan expressed gratitude to the representatives of the party for their work and their dedication to national matters.
During the meeting, regional dynamics, internal affairs and public life of Armenia were engaged in discussions.

Addressing inquiries, President Vahagn Khachaturyan provided details of the border demarcation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, undersoring that the demarcation is carried out within the framework of the principles of normalization of relations between the two countries and the achievement of peace, as well as the inviolability of territorial integrity.

President Khachaturyan underscored Armenian government’s commitment to fostering harmonious relations with neighboring states.

Conversations also touched upon the agenda of cooperation between Armenia and the United States, highlighting the importance of bolstering Armenia-Diaspora ties and taking the necessary steps addressing existing challenges.

In an informal setting, the President provided insights into Armenia’s economy, the military industry, the expansion of the country's defense capabilities, economic diversification and activities carried out in other spheres.

The sides exchanged views on the interplay between internal socio-political developments, regional and geopolitical realities.

Concluding the meeting, SDHP representatives reaffirmed their readiness to support Armenia’s statehood and issues on the country's agenda.

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President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan had a meeting with representatives of the Union of Iranian-Armenians and Iraqi-Armenians at a tea table at his residence in Los Angeles.

In an informal setting, the attendees took an interest in the reforms and initiatives carried out in recent years in the Armed Forces and Military-industrial sphere of the Republic of Armenia.

During the conversation, the border demarcation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the developments taking place around it were touched upon, as well as the problems of spreading propaganda disinformation. In this context, the President of the Republic presented to the representatives of the Union details about the works being carried out in the direction of facing the internal and external challenges of Armenia, increasing the defense capability of the country, as well as strengthening and diversifying the security system of the state.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the issues of the Armenia-Diaspora agenda, the ways of solving existing problems and the need to develop joint agendas.

The programs implemented by the government to take care of the primary and complex problems of forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh and the issues requiring urgent solution were also discussed.

At the meeting, the President of the Republic answered the questions of the attendees, addressing both the regional and internal-political, social, economic, military and other developments of Armenia.

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Within the framework of his working visit to the US state of California, President Vahagn Khachaturyan received Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo at his residence in Los Angeles.

Over the course of the meeting, the sides discussed opportunities of promoting cooperation between the cities of Pasadena and Armenia on the principle of sister cities. In this regard, the President of the Republic noted that currently the gap in the application of this principle needs to be filled by combining bilateral efforts, and from this point of view, the visit of Mayor Victor Gordo to Armenia planned for the summer within the framework of the initiative of the US Department of State is a good opportunity.

During the conversation, the opportunities of launching programs for the exchange of best practices in the urban management system and initiating retraining programs of offices were touched upon.

Special attention was paid to possible cooperation on the development of urban infrastructure.

The Mayor of Pasadena presented to the President of the Republic details about the principles of their successful experience regarding the systematic organization of small and medium-sized businesses in the urban environment.

The Mayor touched upon the experience and successes of the city authorities in preserving architectural and cultural values, forests and green spaces, as well as in solving environmental problems.

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Within the framework of his working visit to the US state of California, President Vahagn Khachaturyan received Glendale Mayor Elen Asatryan at his residence in Los Angeles.

During the meeting, the Mayor of Glendale presented to the President of the Republic information about the initiatives of the numerous Armenian Community of the city, as well as about stimulating cooperation between local organizations and official diplomatic circles of Armenia, about existing problems and the necessary steps being taken to solve them.

The sides discussed issues related to the opportunities for the exchange of best practices and the implementation of retraining joint programs between the offices of Municipalities of sister cities - Glendale and Yerevan in the fields of urban management and infrastructure development.

The President of the Republic highly appreciated the visit of the mayors of the nearby cities of Glendale and Los Angeles to Armenia planned in the near future on the initiative of the US Department of State, which will become a new incentive for expanding cooperation between Armenia and the United States, in particular the state of California.

At the end of the meeting, an agreement was reached to continue working contacts.

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President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with Senior Pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America, Rev. Hendrik Shanazarian and representatives of the Union at his residence in Los Angeles.

Welcoming the guests, President Vahagn Khachaturyan highly appreciated the clear position adopted by the Union since the independence of Armenia, to support the establishment and strengthening of statehood to the fullest, and also expressed gratitude to the Union for the implementation of numerous humanitarian and social programs to this day.

Expressing gratitude for the reception, the attendees reaffirmed the unequivocal readiness of the Armenian Evangelical Union to further contribute to the development and strengthening of Armenia.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on common regional developments and realities in an informal setting.

Answering the questions of the attendees, President Vahagn Khachaturyan provided details about the current stage of the border demarcation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the general principles.

In his speech, the President noted that Armenia is firmly moving on the path of establishing and developing neighborly relations with Azerbaijan and all neighboring countries, guided by the principles of inviolability of the territorial integrity of the countries, inviolability of sovereignty and independence, as well as fundamental international rights and norms. In this context, the importance of promoting steps aimed at creating an atmosphere of mutual trust between the countries was emphasized.

Over the course of the conversation, a reference was made to the results of the President's visit to Silicon Valley, and in this context, to the reforms taking place in the Armenian economy and main trends of development.

The meeting also touched upon issues related to the activities and functions of the church community and clergy in public life, identified existing problems in this area and ways to solve them.

During the conversation the sides pointed out the need to join the efforts of political, public and spiritual organizations for the purpose of public solidarity and the formulation of common agendas.