On July 17, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, the deputy governor of Kotayk Province, as well as guests and employees of the RA Ministry of Diaspora participated in the grand ceremony marking the end of the third stage of the 2015 “Ari Tun” Program of the RA Ministry of Diaspora at the “Ari Tun” Camp in Tsaghkadzor.

The minister greeted the participants of the third stage of the “Ari Tun” Program and particularly mentioned the following: “I want to believe that you will always remember these past 14 days. You saw and loved Armenia. You grew to love your friends, and your friendship will continue for a long time. The world’s best language for every Armenian is Armenian. Always speak Armenian! We are bidding you farewell with the desire to see you again. We love you, wait for you, believe in you and want you to be outstanding students. Long live Armenia! Long live the Armenian people!” The minister urged the participants to stay true to their national values, preserve the mother language, as well as be dignified citizens of their countries of residence and keep the honor of the Armenians high.

Father Priest Hovsep Alexanyan gave his blessings to the participants.

The participants of the program performed songs and dances that they had rehearsed during the days that they spent at the camp. The participants were greeted by director of the State Folk Instruments Ensemble of Gyumri, Merited Cultural Figure of the Republic of Armenia Murad Malkhasyan and winner of the Voice of Armenia competition Mery (Masha) Mnjoyan.

Let us mention that the third stage of the “Ari Tun” Program was held with the participation of nearly 150 young Armenians from 17 countries around the world, including the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the USA, France, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, China, Lebanon, Thailand and Syria.