07
07, 2014

Serzh Sargsyan holds meetings with President of Argentine Chamber of Deputies and Head of Government of City of Buenos Aires

 

On July 7, President Serzh Sargsyan who arrived in the Argentine Republic on an official visit held a meeting with the Head of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires (mayor) Mauricio Macri.

In the context of the Armenian-Argentine interstate relations the parties put special emphasis on decentralized cooperation which has a special role in reinforcing the friendship of the two countries’ peoples and in mutual recognition of cultural values. Serzh Sargsyan and Mayor Mauricio Macri stressed that the first step toward that goal was taken about one and a half decade ago when Buenos Aires and Yerevan were declared sister cities.

At the meeting Serzh Sargsyan emphasized Mauricio Macri’s visit to Yerevan in 2012 during which the ceremony of transferring the title of international capital of books from Buenos Aires to Yerevan took place. The RA President noted that the visit gave a new momentum to the cooperation between the two capitals and expressed hope that such visits and mutual contacts will be regular and will embrace an inclusive agenda geared toward promoting mutual collaboration. Serzh Sargsyan underscored that Armenia is ready to encourage and support new initiatives and projects in Yerevan-Buenos Aires formats.

The Armenian President also touched upon the presence of Armenians in Buenos Aires which is a firm bridge linking the two countries together. According to the president, the Armenians who fled to Argentina as a result of the gravest crime – the genocide of 1915 – committed against the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire were shown a sincere attitude. Serzh Sargsyan was glad to note that over the past years Armenians have been actively involved in the development of both Argentina and Buenos Aires and have enriched the life of that city notable for its multiculturalism.

Taking the occasion, President Serzh Sargsyan extended his deepest gratitude to the city authorities of Buenos Aires for officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide, as well as for their decision on building a genocide museum in Buenos Aires which according to the president, is Argentina’s another valuable input into the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.

President Serzh Sargsyan also congratulated the mayor of Buenos Aires and the friendly people of Argentina on the occasion of the country’s Independence Day to be marked on July 9 and wished peace, prosperity and further achievements.

At the end of the meeting, Mayor Mauricio Macri handed the key to Buenos Aires and the Honorary Visitor Diploma to the Armenian President on the occasion of his visit. Prior to leaving, Serzh Sargsyan left a note in the honorary guest book of the municipality.

President Serzh Sargsyan also held a meeting with the President of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies Julian Andres Dominguez.

At the outset, the Armenian President noted that during his foreign visits he attaches great importance to his meetings with heads of legislatures, since it is hard to overestimate legislators’ role in developing interstate relations and creating an atmosphere of mutual trust. According to the president, in the context of the Armenian-Argentine relations Armenia lays special emphasis on the parliamentary collaboration. Serzh Sargsyan mentioned that the Law on the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide passed by the Argentine Senate and the Chamber of Deputies opened a new page in the history of the Armenian-Argentine ages-old friendship and gave a special meaning to the two countries’ inter-parliamentary ties. The parties emphasized the need for stimulating reciprocal visits of various parliamentary delegations and encouraging contacts between different inter-parliamentary friendship groups.
 

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