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    Categories: 2018

Armenia’s President-elect Encourages Open Dialogue with Diasporans as the Way Forward

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Website: www.agbu.org

PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, 

ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT-ELECT ENCOURAGES OPEN DIALOGUE WITH DIASPORANS AS THE WAY 
FORWARD

On , Armen Sarkissian, who will be sworn in as the new President 
of the Republic of Armenia in April, visited AGBU’s Central Office in New York 
for a candid conversation with young professionals in the Armenian community. 
His purpose was to initiate and foster a renewed engagement with the homeland, 
as the way forward for Armenia’s future success. 

Mr. Sarkissian contended that after 26 years of war, financial setbacks and 
social hardships, Armenia is now poised to achieve the dream of having “a small 
republic but a global nation.” This was a recurring theme throughout the 
evening, along with other concepts such as good citizenship, engaging Armenians 
who are not connected to their heritage with real success stories and, most 
important, achieving unity of Armenia and diaspora. 

Moderator Lara Setrakian, CEO and Executive Editor of News Deeply, framed the 
discussion as the start of an ongoing dialogue, a forum for the exchange of 
ideas with the new president.  “This is a potential turning point for the 
Republic of Armenia,” she said. “We feel very fortunate to be having this 
conversation now.” 

When she opened the floor to questions for the President-elect, Mr. Sarkissian 
turned the tables by saying “I am here to listen to you rather than to tell 
you. I am here to understand what are the expectations of the next generation 
of Armenians.” He addressed the audience: “How do you see Armenia today?  What 
is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Armenia?  If you 
were elected president of Armenia, what would you like to change?”  

These provocative questions sparked a lively and freewheeling interaction with 
the audience, which covered the gamut of issues from doing business in Armenia, 
social justice, emigration, and an independent judiciary to womens’ rights, 
diasporan representation in the Parliament, and many related topics. 

On the subject of diasporan engagement, for example, the President-elect was 
emphatic: “You have to keep a passport in your soul and believe you are a 
citizen of the country. You have to believe that you are Armenian and Armenia 
has to believe that you are Armenian. Armenia has to be your homeland and it 
has to take care of you,” he stated. 

Referring to a comment about lost Armenians in far flung places who have no 
connection to the homeland or their identity, Mr. Sarkissian said that Armenia 
had to have more success stories to attract these outliers. “It’s amazing what 
we have achieved as a nation”, referring to the great victory of Arstakh. 
“After hundreds of years we showed that we can be victorious. The other way 
around is very damaging…Bringing back the sweet feeling of victory is 
fantastic,” he added.

Addressing concerns about Armenia’s business environment, the President-elect 
injected another theme into the discussion—good citizenship. “We’ve seen many 
successes and we see new projects every day, but we’ve also lost the great 
feeling of citizenship.” He suggested that fighting corruption is not only a 
matter of governance and passing laws but also developing responsible citizens. 
“That is the way forward and the president is the one to use his office to lead 
the way. A president must lead by example as a good citizen.” he underscored. 

He also asserted that, unlike the past, Armenia is a unique country as it is 
both a member of the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union. He 
explained what it means to have access to the financial support, liquidity and 
technology from relations with Europe, applying those inputs to Armenian talent 
and ingenuity and selling that output to a huge market of 200 million without 
custom barriers. “We are the only country that has good relations with both the 
European Union and Eurasia. It’s a fantastic opportunity…if we are smart we 
will use it…” Emphasizing the critical time to act on this exceptional 
position, he noted “Armenia has to have friends everywhere.”

Talking about gender equality, Mr. Sarkissian noted that although traditionally 
Armenian women did not have many rights, the young generation is excelling in 
many fields and “more women are now in the current Parliament than before.” But 
he is also confident that more equality could be reached. “Of course, at the 
end of the day the natural ratio should be 50/50,” he opined, also calling on 
the diaspora to not hold back from being part of the ongoing conversations 
inside Armenia about domestic abuse and selective abortions. “It’s a national 
problem and everyone from here is to contribute,” he added. 

For Mr. Sarkissian, poverty is a big issue which jeopardizes the well-being of 
women, children, and families. “There are several problems that we are to 
handle in the country, and one of them is poverty. Poverty is connected to the 
demographic issue and is related to other issues, including rights,” he noted 
and added that women and children become more vulnerable in the face of 
emigration, especially when men go abroad for employment opportunities. 

At the same time, the President-elect does not deem poverty as the primary 
cause of emigration. The lack of hope and injustice make people seek a better 
future on foreign lands. He suggested that Armenia should become more 
attractive both for its citizens and the diaspora. “It is important to return 
that hope to those who live in Armenia and create hope for those who live 
outside of Armenia so that they see the potential life in Armenia,” said 
Sarkissian. 

According to the President-elect, locals can do a lot to help their own country 
prosper economically, and internal tourism is one way of doing it. He proposed 
to instill the culture of internal tourism which would not only bring economic 
benefits to the country but also help locals discover their culturally and 
geographically diverse homeland. This does not require much investment, he 
noted. “If we have 250,000 people visiting Artsakh, its budget will be 
doubled,” he said.

He acknowledged that the model of success is something we all knew over 100 
years ago, that our strength is our unity. He said he believed that the next 
ten, twenty years will be favorable for Armenia if we invest in the future of 
our children, our country, and new technology. 

For the President-elect, the opportunity for collective forums like the one 
held in New York are crucial to achieving the outcomes Armenians we envision. 
He described the current relationship between Armenia’s national citizens and 
diaporans as somewhat problematic, likening it to an “invisible Berlin 
Wall”—one that needed to fall down in order for the global Armenian nation to 
face the challenges of the 21st century. Having open, free dialogues such as 
the gathering at AGBU was a groundbreaking step in that direction. 
 
He concluded the evening by saying “I have the feeling that I am becoming 
president of a country at a good time. There are many ingredients to success 
and one of them is luck. I think I am lucky. Because I am becoming president at 
a time when there is a big opportunity for our nation.”

Established in 1906, AGBU (www.agbu.org) is the world's largest non-profit 
Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU preserves and 
promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and 
humanitarian programs, annually touching the lives of some 500,000 Armenians 
around the world.
 
For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit 
www.agbu.org.

Albert Nalbandian: