U.S. Congressmen Visit Armenia; Call For Free And Fair Election

U.S. CONGRESSMEN VISIT ARMENIA; CALL FOR FREE AND FAIR ELECTION

hetq
22:14, February 19, 2012

A 15-member Congressional Delegation from the U.S. House of
Representatives headed by Chairman David Dreier met with President
Serzh Sargsyan and Speaker of Parliament Samvel Nikoyan on February 19.

The Congressmen visited Armenia as representatives of the House
Democracy Partnership (HDP), a bipartisan, 20-member commission
established by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2005 to support
the development of independent, democratic legislatures. This was
the second visit of the HDP to Armenia.

President Sargsyan hosted a dinner for the delegation, which included
five members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Ambassador
to Armenia John Heffern.

At the dinner, President Serzh Sargsyan noted that he values ongoing
contacts with the friends of Armenia in the U.S. Congress whose support
has had its considerable impact on the establishment and development
of democracy in Armenia as well as on the preservation of stability
in our region.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic
relations between Armenia and the United States, and I am glad that
we are celebrating this jubilee on the highest level,” President
Serzh Sargsyan said.

Congressman Dreier, Chair of the House Democracy Partnership,
highlighted the importance of the upcoming parliamentary elections
to the bilateral relationship and urged the government and all the
political parties to “do everything in their power to ensure free,
fair, and credible elections.” .

The Delegation included Rep. David Dreier (R-CA), Rep. James Moran
(D-VA), Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), Rep. Kenny
Marchant (R-TX), Reverend Patrick Conroy, Chaplain of the House of
Representatives, and staff.