Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the commissioners for diaspora affairs, who are in Yerevan to take part in the third Global Armenian Summit.
Prime Minister Pashinyan welcomed those present and noted. “We are, in essence, introducing a new institution and a new system together in recent years, and I want to thank you for your involvement. We must place at the centre of our cooperation the development of the Republic of Armenia, the development of Armenia’s state institutions and, in general, statehood and the economy, and the Republic of Armenia must become the centre of Armenian life. I will note that, in essence, that process is taking place in parallel, because we see that more and more representatives of the Diaspora are more actively involved in the development of the economy and education in Armenia, and in that field we have well-known, even world-famous projects. But it is also important that we convey our message to all strata of Armenians, to all citizens.” The Prime Minister stressed that in this work the role of the institution of the commissioner for diaspora affairs is extremely important, under the leadership of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs.
Nikol Pashinyan also spoke about the draft of the new Constitution and stressed that it addresses Armenia-Diaspora relations. “I want to draw your attention to one more nuance, because, as you know, in all likelihood we are working on the text of a new Constitution and the draft, which will undergo further elaboration, will be published during the month of November. There we pay very important attention to Armenia-Diaspora relations and to the purpose of those relations. Of course, those relations are not one-layered, but we considered it important that it be clearly formulated in the draft of the new Constitution what, after all, is the ultimate goal of Armenia-Diaspora relations, because there can be current goals, but there must also be an ultimate goal. And we have come to the conclusion that the ultimate goal, after all, is repatriation, so that people consider the Republic of Armenia the centre of their life and activity. It is important for us that representatives of Armenians identify themselves with the Republic of Armenia as a very important and inseparable part of their identity, which, of course, will also be expressed through citizenship of the Republic of Armenia and by carrying out certain activity in the Republic of Armenia.”
During the meeting, issues relating to Armenia-Diaspora relations were discussed, including issues concerning the promotion of the commissioners’ effective cooperation with diplomatic representations and the expansion of systemic and effective Armenia-Diaspora cooperation.
