On June 22, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan received President of the Los Angeles affiliate of the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA), member of the women’s council adjunct to the US Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Silva Katchiguian.

Mrs. Katchiguian told the Minister that several members of the organization are currently in Armenia to witness and participate in the visit of Pope Francis to Armenia and do their best to help organize the visit, if necessary.

As President of the Armenian International Women’s Association, Minister Hranush Hakobyan welcomed that initiative and stated that the visit of the Pope is not only a national, but an international phenomenon. The Minister especially appreciated the slogan of the Pope’s visit (“Visit to the First Christian Land”), which means that the Pope is stressing once again the fact that Armenia is of special significance for the Christian world.

The sides expressed the view that, with his statements and the visit, Pope Francis is drawing the world’s attention to Armenia-something that will help spark more interest in Armenia and increase the flow of tourists in Armenia.

During the meeting, the sides also touched upon the 25^th anniversary of the Armenian International Women’s Association, which will be celebrated in late September.

As Mrs. Katchiguian stated, the celebration of the anniversary will serve as an occasion to not only talk about the pro-national activities that the organization has carried out over the past 25 years, the major issues of increasing the role of Armenian women and the search for paths that can awaken the love of young Armenians for the homeland, Armenian culture and science, but also to discuss what will particularly be the main target of activities in the future.

In her turn, Minister Hranush Hakobyan stressed the role that the organization has played in consolidating Armenian women around the world and encouraging and mobilizing their efforts in the spheres of education, culture and business. According to the Minister, one of the main areas of activity of the AIWA is to identify remarkable Armenian women and carry out different initiatives aimed at appreciating the work that they have done.

During the meeting, the sides discussed issues related to the development of the Armenia-Diaspora partnership and other organizational issues.