Author: Boshkezenian Garik

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER COMMEMORATES ARMENIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.09.2008 12:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined with
Armenian Americans in marking the 17th anniversary of the independence
of the Republic of Armenia, the ANCA-WR reported.

Schwarzenegger congratulated all Armenians in California on September
21, 2008 which marks Armenia’s independence in 1991 from decades of
soviet rule.

"Greetings to all who have gathered to celebrate Armenian Independence
Day. California is home to a fantastic mix of customs and cultures,
and today, I thank our Armenian-American residents for the wonderful
influence you have on our state. Your many contributions enrich
our communities, strengthen our economy and touch the lives of your
fellow Californians.

It’s a distinct honor to join you in commemorating this special
occasion. As an immigrant, I know firsthand the joy that comes in
celebrating your ancestral roots. Days like this not only remind us
of time-honored traditions, but also of the great diversity that
we enjoy here in our Golden State. On behalf of all Californians,
I wish you a memorable observance and every future success," the
Governor’s message says.

The Declaration on Independence was adopted by the Supreme Council
of the Republic of Armenia on August 23, 1990.

Following the outcomes of a national referendum on September 21,
1991, when 94,99 per cent of the population voted for secession from
the Soviet Union, the SC proclaimed Armenia an independent state.

RUSSIA AND THE REMAKING OF THE ‘NEAR ABROAD’
By Guner Ozkan

Today’s Zaman
23 September 2008, Tuesday
Turkey

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has conformed to the
Russian view that the conflict in South Ossetia is tantamount to
shaking, if not entirely changing, the global balance of power that
has orbited around US supremacy since the end of the Cold War.

So the SCO has seen the unipolar mentality of the US as a
source of conflict rather than a cure for the world’s common
challenges. Stressing the necessity of a multipolar world for the
sake of international security, the SCO has supported the maintenance
of a strategic balance of power. The SCO has thus warned that the US
endeavor to create a global missile defense system, as in Poland and
the Czech Republic, is a futile attempt, as such efforts will neither
help uphold the strategic balance nor prevent the spread of weapons
of every kind, including nuclear.

So, along with demanding a multipolar international order, the SCO
reiterated that Russia has an exclusive right to shape the "near
abroad.’"

Rising value of the CSTO

Not surprisingly, Russia has received substantial political
backing from certain countries within the borders of the "near
abroad." Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan already
announced their endorsement of Russia within the context of the
SCO. More support has also come from members of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO) — an organization established in 2002 that
grew out of the Russian-led Collective Security Organization of 1993
and was meant to improve security relations between Russia, Armenia,
Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Like the
SCO, the heads of state of the CSTO at their summit on Sept. 5 in
Moscow endorsed Russia’s role in the conflict region and condemned
Georgia’s military action against South Ossetia and "double standards"
being pursued by the West on the issue. So, as well as showing that
it is not and cannot be isolated, Russia made a comparison between
the cases of Kosovo and South Ossetia by putting the term "double
standard" in the resolution of the CSTO summit.

Here again, Russia conveyed that diplomatic recognition of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia is a matter that should be decided by each member
of the CSTO in line with their own national interests. Belarusian
President Alexander Lukashenko has already announced his willingness
to recognize them as soon as parliament returns from summer break
at the end of September. After evaluating the changing political
and military dynamics in the region, and of course, seeing a green
light from Russia, Armenia may also prefer to recognize not only South
Ossetia and Abkhazia but also Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. In fact,
perhaps encouraged by the Russian stance on the recognition of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia, Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan pointed out at the
summit that all members of the CSTO should adopt a unified position
on foreign policy, military and other issues. Certainly, Sarksyan
had in mind a united front in the CSTO toward the Armenian-populated
breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, including possible
diplomatic recognition of it. True, Armenia and other CSTO members
have still not recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia. However,
it will be very interesting to see what the same states do when
Abkhazia soon applies — as Sergei Bagapsh, the Abkhazian leader,
has already announced he will do — for membership in the CSTO and
the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Energy pipelines for control over the ‘near abroad’

Russia’s success in challenging the West or exerting its control over
the "near abroad" is greatly dependent on where future Caspian oil
and gas pipelines are built: passing through Russian territory or not.

Energy pipelines are in fact equally important for both sides. The EU
and the US want to reduce their energy dependence on single and/or
unreliable sources (the Middle East and Russia). On the other hand,
Moscow strongly desires to preserve and increase the huge benefits
it is getting from energy exports as Russia is now earning nearly
two-thirds of its export revenues from oil and natural gas sales. Most
importantly, Russia is spending 30-40 percent of its budget on the
defense and security sectors. With all of this in mind, Putin made
a verbal deal with Islom Karimov, the Uzbek president, on Sept. 2
on another pipeline to carry around 30 billion cubic meters (bcm)
of natural gas per year from Uzbekistan to Russia with a link
to Turkmenistan. Russia has already transported a significant
amount of natural gas from the region via its pipeline system
and made another gas transportation deal (up to 80 bcm per year
for 25 years) with Turkmenistan in May 2007. On the other side,
Washington, Brussels and Ankara have also intensified their efforts
to realize the trans-Caspian pipeline from energy rich Turkmenistan,
with possible inclusion of Uzbek and Kazakh reserves, to Europe via
the Caspian seabed, South Caucasus and Turkey. The trans-Caspian
pipeline, which is currently seen as the most important component
of the Nabucco project — a proposed pipeline to carry the Caspian,
Iraqi and other available natural gas yields to Central Europe via
Turkey — has been under discussion since the mid-1990s. There is
no way that China will be left out of the pipeline equation in the
"near abroad." Of its various other energy projects in the region,
Beijing struck a gas agreement with Turkmenistan in April 2006 for a
Sino-Turkmen pipeline to be completed by 2009 to transport up to 30
bcm of natural gas annually for a 30-year period.

In the final analysis, in the "near abroad" theater, many actors are
still in the energy and security games that now have to be played under
the new power balances created by the conflict in Georgia. Surely,
any verbal political and security guarantees given by the US and
the EU to the vulnerable regional leaderships in the "near abroad"
come nowhere near to matching the military actions of the Russian
army. It is likely that international private investors and politically
unstable leaderships of the region have already begun to think twice
before making up their minds on the paths of future energy lines
and on establishing security and political relationships with the
external world. Naturally, political leaderships in the "near abroad"
have to lean toward the direction(s) posing little or no threat to
their rules. Even if some of them show a certain level of resistance
to Russia’s pressure, it is unlikely they will turn their faces to
the West, but rather to the East, China and other alternatives in
that direction.

*Assistant Professor Guner Ozkan is an expert on the Caucasus at the
Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (ISRO/USAK)
and a lecturer at Mugla University.

BETWEEN THE LINES: ‘THREE CUPS’ FOR ONE BOOK
By Allen Pierleoni – [email protected]

Sacramento Bee
September 22, 2008
USA

Story appeared in LIVING HERE section, Page D3

Circle Oct. 2 on your calendar. That’s when The Bee Book Club will
team with the Sacramento Public Library to present the library’s
fourth annual One Book Sacramento: Connecting Our Communities.

The featured book is "Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission To Promote
Peace, One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
(Penguin, $15, 368 pages).

A starred review in Publishers Weekly magazine said, "Some failures
lead to phenomenal successes, and this American’s unsuccessful attempt
to climb K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, is one of them.

"Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was
sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe;
in return, he promised to build the impoverished town’s first school,
a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since
constructed schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"Relin recounts Mortenson’s efforts in fascinating detail,
presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists,
philanthropists, mujahedin, Taliban officials, ambitious schoolgirls
and upright Muslims."

One Book Sacramento asks everyone to read the same book and participate
in numerous related literary events that will happen online and at
library branches, schools and other venues in October.

"Three Cups of Tea" co-author Relin will appear at 6 p.m. Oct. 2 at
the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria, 828 I St. The event is free and
open to the public. First come, first seated. For more information
on One Book Sacramento: (916) 264-2711 or

These bookstores will offer a 30 percent discount on "Three Cups of
Tea" through Oct. 2: Borders, Barnes & Noble, Avid Reader at Tower
in Sacramento, Avid Reader in Davis, Time Tested Books, East-West
Bookstore, Underground Books, the Hornet Bookstore, the UC Davis
Bookstore and the Bookseller in Grass Valley.

An appearance by David Sedaris, former elf

David Sedaris has long been a funny guy, ever since he cracked up
National Public Radio listeners in 1992 by reading his hilarious
"SantaLand Diaries" on the air. That’s where he recalled in
excruciating detail his Christmastime job as an elf at a Macy’s
department store.

Since then, he has published numerous humor pieces in national
magazines and, of course, a number of books of essays. His latest is
"When You Are Engulfed in Flames" (Little, Brown, $25.99, 336 pages).

Sedaris will appear at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Memorial Auditorium,
1400 J St., Sacramento. Tickets are at (916) 808-5181 and
Prices are $32.50, $39.50 and $47.50.

National Book Foundation to honor Maxine Hong Kingston

The folks at the National Book Foundation – who oversee the prestigious
National Book Awards – have a couple of things up their collective
sleeve.

First, Scott Turow will take the stage Oct. 15 in Chicago to announce
the 20 finalists. Turow, an attorney and novelist, is the best-selling
author of "Presumed Innocent" and "The Burden of Proof," among other
hits. A video of that ceremony can be seen at
the next day.

Second, Oakland’s own Maxine Hong Kingston will be awarded the
Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters on Nov. 19
at the National Book Awards Ceremony in New York City. That’s for
"her outstanding achievements as a writer of fiction, memoir and
nonfiction," says the NBF. She won a National Book Award in 1981 for
"China Men" and appeared for The Bee Book Club in 2006.

Saroyan nonfiction prize for Folsom writer

Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation
announced the winners of the William Saroyan International Prize for
Writing. The winner in the fiction category is Nicole Krauss for "The
History of Love" (W.W. Norton, $13.95, 272 pages); for nonfiction, it’s
Kiyo Sato for "Dandelion Through the Crack" (Willow Valley, $29.95,
416 pages). Each author will receive $12,500 in prize money. Sato
lives in Folsom.

"History" is an intricate story told over 60 years, featuring two
unusual characters whose lives are interwoven in myriad ways. Twists
and turns abound.

"Dandelion" follows the travails and triumphs of one Japanese family,
the Satos, through several generations.

The program was established to "encourage new and emerging writers,
and to honor the Saroyan literary legacy of originality, vitality and
stylistic innovation." Saroyan (1908-1981) was an Armenian American
novelist and playwright who was born in Fresno.

Finalists in the competition for fiction were Pamela Erens for "The
Understory" and Richard Lange for "Dead Boys." Finalists for nonfiction
were John Moir for "Return of the Condor" and Adam David Miller for
"Ticket to Exile."

MarketWatch

InterMedia Survey Finds Armenians Most Favorably Inclined Towards
Russia and Optimistic about Democracy in their Country

Last update: 10:53 a.m. EDT Aug. 28, 2008

WASHINGTON, Aug 28, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ — Despite
a powerful Diaspora lobby in the United States, Armenians’ positive
feelings towards the U.S. are nearly 40 percentage points behind their
feelings towards neighboring Russia. So says a survey of the small (3
million inhabitants) yet strategically located nation, conducted
earlier this year by InterMedia, a Washington, D.C.- based research,
evaluation and consulting organization.

The InterMedia survey found fully 90 percent of Armenians are
favorably inclined towards Russia, but only 53 percent say they are so
inclined towards the United States.

"The higher favorability towards Russia compared to the U.S. is not
surprising," says Lyuda Andriyevska, one of InterMedia’s project
managers for Eurasia. "Russia has been the main strategic partner for
Armenia for centuries. Currently, Russia provides landlocked Armenia
with oil and gas, invests heavily in business and infrastructure,
sells weapons and supports many positions of Armenian foreign policy,
the touchiest of which is its dispute with Azerbaijan over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region."

Armenia is strategically significant in the region due in part to its
location at both the energy and ethnic crossroads of Europe, Asia and
Middle East. With growing demand for energy resources in the world,
Armenia is an important player among three regional powers — Iran,
Turkey and Russia — all of which compete for political and economic
leadership in the region.

Only slightly more than one-quarter of Armenians, 28 percent, are
favourably inclined towards their northern neighbour, Georgia. "One
reason is the souring of Georgian-Russian relations over the last
couple of years," says Ms. Andriyevska. "Georgia serves as a lifeline
for the Armenian economy, as all the inland trade with Russia goes
through it. However, the ongoing conflict between Georgia and Russia
has seriously disrupted communication and transportation of energy and
food supplies to Armenia. This should serve to increase Armenians’
animosity towards Georgia and perhaps even take some of the lustre off
their feelings towards Russia."

The InterMedia survey also found Armenians are pro-European but less
keen on NATO. Seventy percent of the population agree or strongly
agree with the statement that "Armenia should join EU." NATO, on the
other hand, has the support of only slightly more than a quarter of
the population, 27 percent.

Although favorability toward Russia is high, there are fundamental
differences in public sentiment between the two countries. The
InterMedia survey finds Armenians are more optimistic about democratic
changes in their country and have more faith in the power of the
electoral process than do Russians. Almost two-thirds of Armenians, 64
percent, anticipated increased chances for democracy and personal self
expression after the presidential elections in February 2008; only 5
percent of the Russian population expected similar improvements in
terms of democracy and self expression after their own 2008
presidential elections. (InterMedia’s Russian survey took place in
January 2008.)

InterMedia is a leading international media research, public opinion,
evaluation and consulting organization creatively equipping clients to
understand their audiences, gauge their effectiveness and target their
communications in transitional and developing societies
worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., and active year-round in more
than 60 countries, InterMedia helps clients understand complex issues
in challenging research environments. The company’s strengths include
its people-area experts skilled in scientifically-based research and
focused on client solutions-its vast global network of local research
partners and contacts and its rich data archive of more than 670 media
and opinion surveys carried out over the past 15 years.

Survey Details: InterMedia conducted a nationally representative
survey of 2,000 face-to face interviews in Armenia between 22 January
and 27 February 2008. Maximum margin of error, with a 95% confidence
interval, is +/-2.2%.

For more information, contact Alex Wooley, InterMedia’s vice president
of communications and development, at 202-434-9332,
[email protected]

SOURCE InterMedia

Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

PILGRIM ARMENIAN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
By Ron Orozco

Fresno Bee
09/19/08 15:00:00
CA

Children gather to pray along with the Rev. Ara Guekguezian at Pilgrim
Armenian Congregational Chuch. Photo

Congregants of Pilgrim Armenian Congregational Church in east-central
Fresno say they have a special feeling about their church.

"We feel like family here," Adele Eleazarian says. "It’s been a great
place to train children."

Families and youth play important roles on a recent Sunday at Pilgrim
Church, which was founded by 14 members in 1901.

Here are key parts of the service:

Andrew Rettig, 14, is part of a musical trio — and he steals the
show playing acoustic guitar with a lot of heart.

A little girl, Cassie, holds up a picture as the church’s pastor,
the Rev. Ara R. Guekguezian, gives a special message to about two
dozen children sitting on the altar steps.

Eliza Hakobyan, 12, gives a stirring rendition on piano of Johann
Sebastian Bach’s "Toccata and Fugue" in D Minor. This follows her
father Benjamin Hakobyan’s performance on classical guitar.

Carissa Buchanan, a college student, is introduced as a new member —
and gets a hug from Guekguezian.

Here are other notes from the visit:

What’s the first thing you notice from your pew? The sanctuary’s dome
features many small stained-glass windows. The architect, Richard
Manoogian, is a church member.

What might you experience here that you can’t other places? A
deacon, Arshak Sargsyan, reads the Gospel of Mark 7:1-20 in
Armenian. Congregants also recite the Lord’s Prayer ("Hyer Mer")
in Armenian.

What’s everyone talking about? It’s the church’s recent Vacation Bible
School, led Tracy Bright and Karen Jaramishian. Dozens of children
memorized Scripture.

Who’s the behind-the-scenes hero? Faye DeLong hits all the right
notes playing the church’s Reuter Pipe Organ.

Does this congregation reach out to the community? Mary and David
Brown of Palo Alto were planning to move to Fresno this summer. The
deal was sealed when the Browns ate lunch at Bedrosian’s Armenian
Deli — Guekguezian and his father, the Rev. Bernard Guekguezian,
81, invited them to church.

The basics

Location: 3673 N. First St.

Contacts: (559) 229-2915; pilgrimchurch.com.

Services: 11 a.m. Sundays

Child care: Available

Pastor, years of service: The Rev. Ara R. Guekguezian, eight years

Congregation: 400 members

History: Established with 14 members in 1901. Moved into former
First Congregational Church at Van Ness and Inyo streets in 1911
and the former First Presbyterian Church at Merced and M streets in
1921. Relocated nearly 40 years later to current site, where social
hall, educational and administration buildings built. Completed
sanctuary on March 15, 1970. Opened Family Life Center.

Religious association: Armenian Evangelical Union of North America

Doctrine: Evangelical Reformed

Key ministries: Pilgrim Kids, Sunday school classes, Christ Saved Our
Souls junior-high group, Evangelizing X-ians in Training high-school
group, college group, career group, Kuppajoe, women’s Dorcas Guild,
men’s TGIF Bible study, Men’s Forum, GFLC missions, Armenian adult
class, Dayton Square Apartments outreach, prayer time, food pantry,
Armenian Home Guild, picnic and grape blessing, sister city in Gyumri
in Armenia

Of special note: The church will hold a Parking Lot Yard Sale to
support missions 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 4 at 3673 N. First St.

The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (559)
441-6304. Enlarge this imageA detail of a stained-glass window at
the church.

U.S. NEWLY APPOINTED AMBASSADOR HANDS OVER HER CREDENTIALS

ARMENPRESS
Sep 19, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS: U.S. newly appointed ambassador to
Armenia Marie Yovanovitch handed over today the copy of her credentials
to the Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

Press service of the ministry informed Armenpress that greeted
the guest, the minister congratulated her on being appointed as a
U.S. ambassador to Armenia and wished success in the implementation
of her diplomatic mission.

During the meeting the interlocutors discussed prospects of development
of bilateral relations. Minister Nalbandian pointed out that Armenia
underscores boosting relations with the USA and will seek consolidation
of partnership and cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Nalbandian and ambassador Yovanovitch referred also to the
recent developments over Nagorno Karabakh conflict regulation. Edward
Nalbandian noted that Minsk Group is a functioning format for the
regulation of Nagorno Karabakh conflict which proved its vitality
and added that the negotiations based on the Madrid suggestions may
bring to the solution of the issues.

Referring to the recent developments in the region, the minister said
that Armenia has always been for peaceful regulation of conflicts.

With the request of the ambassador the minister presented the
opportunities of regulation of Armenian-Turkish relations and
reiterated Armenia’s readiness to establish diplomatic relations with
Turkey and opening Armenian-Turkish border without pre-conditions.

E. Nalbandian said that the invitation of Serzh Sargsyan and the
visit of the Turkey’s president gave a historic opportunity for
the regulation of relations. The newly appointed U.S. ambassador
assured that she will do her best for the development and expansion
of Armenian-U.S. relations.

OSCE AND BRITISH COUNCIL ORGANIZE COURSE FOR FEMALE CANDIDATES IN ARMENIA ON ELECTION CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT

armradio.am
19.09.2008 16:33

How to run an election campaign, manage media relations and give
political speeches are among the topics of an OSCE-organized two-day
course for women that started today in the southern Syunik province
of Armenia.

The course, jointly organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the
British Council Armenia, targets women from Syunik who are running
in the local elections.

A British consultant is teaching the course, which aims to help
participants enhance their lobbying and public speaking skills as well
as their ability to better formulate and communicate their messages
to voters and the media.

"Lack of confidence is an obstacle for women to run effective campaigns
and lobbying efforts," said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, Head of the
OSCE Office in Yerevan. "We hope that this training course will
boost the participants’ confidence and promote networking among
women interested in becoming active in local politics. In the end,
we hope that more women are elected to local bodies."

This course is part of an OSCE Office project aiming to empower women
in Syunik in the economic and political fields. The OSCE Office opened
a Programme Presence in the Syunik city of Kapan in 2006.

A similar course was held earlier this week in Yerevan. The training
in the capital, which targeted women representing Armenia’s leading
political parties, was part of a British Council "Wo/Men in politics"
project financed by the British Embassy Yerevan.

RICE: U.S. AND TURKEY TO BUILD FOUNDATION FOR COOPERATION IN CAUCASUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2008 13:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The United States and Europe are solidifying ties
with neighbors, the U.S. Secretary of State said.

"We are working as a wider group, including with our friends in
Finland and Sweden, who have been indispensable partners throughout
this recent crisis. We are backing worthy initiatives, like Norway’s
High North policy," Condoleezza Rice said in her address to the German
Marshall Fund.

"We are working to resolve other regional disputes, such as Nagorno
Karabakh, and to build with friends and allies like Turkey a foundation
for cooperation in the Caucasus. And we will not allow Russia to wield
a veto over the future of the Euro-Atlantic community – neither what
states are offered membership, nor the choice of states that accept
it. We have made this particularly clear to our friends in Ukraine,"
she said, the State Department’s press center reported.

"The United States and Europe are deepening our cooperation in pursuit
of greater energy independence – working with Azerbaijan, and Georgia,
and Turkey, and the Caspian countries. We will expand and defend open
global energy in the economy from abusive practices. There cannot be
one set of rules for Russia, Inc. – and another for everyone else,"
Secretary Rice said.

TURKISH MASS MEDIA WORKS UNDER RESTRICTIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.09.2008 15:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The mass media in Turkey, including the
Armenian-language press, works under certain restrictions, Ara
Kochunyan, editor-in-chief of Zhamanak Istanbul-based Armenian-language
newspaper, told a news conference in Yerevan.

"We do not use the term ‘genocide’ in our newspaper not because we deny
this fact. This is a very sensitive issue in Turkey. Our newspaper
publishes various versions of the 1915 events and the readers make
conclusions," he said, adding that terminology is given a back seat
in the issue.

"The Armenian community of Istanbul is in an awkward position. On the
one hand, we are Turkish citizens. On the other hand, we are the heirs
of the victims of the 1915 events, when several dozens of thousands
of people was all that has remained from a 200-thousand Armenian
community. We have to keep it in mind," Kochunyan said and added,
"Each editor has his "inner censor."

Zhamanak was based in 1908 and is one of a few Armenian-language
newspapers in the Diaspora.

YEREVAN MAYOR PAYS OFFICIAL VISIT TO SOFIA AND DELHI

Noyan Tapan

Se p 17, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 17, NOYAN TAPAN. On September 9-15, a delegation
led by Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharian visited the capital cities of
Bulgaria and India.

In the capital city of Bulgaria, Sofia, where Yerevan Mayor was
at the invitation of his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov, the
solemn ceremony of unveiling of the Khachkar monument given to Sofia
by Yerevan Mayor’s Office took place on September 10 at Yerevan Park
with the participation of Yerevan and Sofia Mayors.

Y. Zakharian’s and B. Borisov’s official meeting took place after
the solemn ceremony, during which an agreement On Friendship Between
Yerevan and Sofia was signed.

Y. Zakharian invited Sofia Mayor to take part in the festivity of
2790th anniversary of Yerevan, which will take place on October 10-11.

Yerevan Mayor met with representatives of the Bulgarian Armenian
community on September 10 at the RA Embassy in Bulgaria.

According to the report of Yerevan Mayor’s Office Information and
Public Relations Department, on September 12-15, the delegation led
by Y. Zakharian at the invitation of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila
Dikshit visited the capital city of India.

Within the framework of the visit Yerevan Mayor had meetings with
Delhi Chief Minister and Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra. Cooperation prospects
between the capital cities of the two friendly countries were discussed
during the meetings.

Yerevan Mayor and Delhi Chief Minister signed a Memorandum On Mutual
Consent, which outlines cooperation in the spheres of economy, health,
education, science, urban development, and information technologies.

The official ceremony of opening of Armenia Street took place on
September 13 at the park in front of the building of the RA Embassy
in Delhi. Delhi and Yerevan Mayors made speeches during the ceremony.

The delegation led by Yerevan Mayor returned to Yerevan on September
15.