“The 25^th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Armenia and the Artsakh Republic served as the best occasion for organizing the Pan-Armenian Forum of Journalists under the title “Armenian Statehood: Axis of Unity”. I also attach importance to the conduct of the forum in Artsakh since the power that we receive from the land of Artsakh will have an impact on Diaspora Armenians. It is clear that the forum is being held at a high level, there are more participants from various countries, and the activities are coordinated,” Editor-in-Chief of Zartonk Daily of Lebanon Sevag Hagopian said in an interview with Hayern Aysor, adding that the forums have led to the creation of a powerful network of mass media outlets in Armenia and abroad, strengthened the bonds between media outlets in different countries around the world, and there is even competition between them. The personal relations between the editors and journalists have also become stronger.

According to Sevag Hagopian, the idea of unity is important for the consolidation of the potential of Diaspora Armenian journalists and for the solution to the issues of pan-Armenian significance. Each of the Diaspora Armenian media outlets must promote the partnership.

“We must always remember that the media simply serves the interest of the state, regardless of its position and orientation.

It is time for foreign media outlets to open their offices in Armenia, and now is the time for Diaspora Armenian media outlets to undertake this task, which will help spread objective and impartial information about the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh in the Armenian Diaspora and the whole world.

The brilliant example of this was the Four-Day Artsakh War in April when the world was receiving misinformation. The reason why it received misinformation was because foreign news agencies were not in Yerevan, but Baku. Generally, I believe that Armenian media outlets can compete with the media outlets of any country as a unified structure,” Sevag Hagopian concluded.

The 8^th Pan-Armenian Forum of Journalists was held under the title “Armenian Statehood: Axis of Unity” and was organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora, in association with the Coordinating Council for Pan-Armenian Forums of Journalists, the All-Armenian Media Association and the Union of Journalists of Armenia. The forum was launched on 20 October in Yerevan and will continue on 21 October. The forum will also be held in Stepanakert on 23-24 October.

On the first day of the forum, the participants had meetings with RA Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandyan.

Gevorg Chichyan