On September 19, the Inter-Agency Commission on the Coordination of Syrian-Armenians’ Issues held a session at the RA Ministry of Diaspora. The session was moderated by RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan.

The minister talked about urgent issues and regretted to mention that the Syrian conflict is gaining more and more momentum. She emphasized the fact that the safety of Syrian-Armenian schoolchildren and the maintenance of Armenian schools are primary issues and attached importance to multilateral assistance of all sectors of Armenians.

The RA Minister of Diaspora touched upon the expenses that are required for maintenance of the orphanage and convalescent home in Syria and will be covered by benefactors. The minister also mentioned that the tuition for Syrian-Armenian students of Armenia would continue to be reimbursed through funding provided by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the AGBU and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in the 2016-16 Academic Year. The organizations are working on organizing the reimbursement of apartment rents more effectively and comprehensively.

The minister added that there would soon be exhibition-sales showcasing the handmade items made by Syrian-Armenians and that proceeds from sales would serve as additional financial assistance to the Syrian-Armenians in Armenia.

Deputy Director of the AGBU Office in Armenia Hovik Yordekyan talked about the activities carried out by the AGBU, including reimbursement of Syrian-Armenian students’ tuition, apartment rents, expenses for medical services and minor funding, as well as the organizing of events and the provision of agricultural equipment.

The RA Minister of Diaspora suggested helping find jobs for Syrian-Armenian students standing out with their excellence.

Representative of the Save the Children Foundation Siranush Vardanyan talked about the activities that the Foundation has been carrying out since 2014 in order to raise the standard of living of Syrian-Armenians. The Foundation has organized seminars devoted to rapid integration, job placement and the development of business plans. Several pre-schools of Yerevan have been renovated through funding provided by the Foundation, and Syrian-Armenian parents take their children to those pre-schools.

Advisor to the Chairperson of the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia for Programs Zinavor Meghryan touched upon the legal aid that the Chamber of Advocates has been providing to the Syrian-Armenians since January 2014. The legal aid included two stages, including consulting and summary. Meghryan mentioned that the Chamber of Advocates has prepared a questionnaire that will help find out how effective the consulting has been.

At the end, the RA Minister of Diaspora called on the representatives of all government agencies and corresponding structures to reflect on each and every Syrian-Armenian’s issue with more generosity and place them above other issues.