The end of each year is a time for every individual, government agency and representatives of structures, organizations, as well as unions and associations to give a special report. At the end of the day, the “report” is the inner voice of our souls and conscience, and the major question has to be the following: What have you done for your Homeland and people this year? I talked about this and other topics during my interview with RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan.

Karine Avagyan: Mrs. Hakobyan, another year is going down in history, and in the course of that year, you and the employees of your ministry have clearly carried out many pro-national acts. What was the fruit of those efforts?

Hranush Hakobyan: I believe there were many good programs and events. If programs are carried out, it means they are fruitful. If we look at the year from the perspectives of society, politics and peace, it was a grave and difficult year. The military operations in April and the events that took place in July were unexpected. Armenia faced many problems and suffered many losses…and in this sense, we needed time to give solutions, eliminate the consequences and overcome all that.

Karine Avagyan: What do you consider the greatest achievement of the Ministry of Diaspora in the passing year?

Hranush Hakobyan: I believe the greatest achievement is the publication of the report entitled “State of Armenians in the World” which, I think, became very significant in the pan-Diasporan sense, and it will become a book after it is modified. The second major achievement was the creation of an album devoted to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, which sums up the results of the unique activities that were carried out in the Armenian Diaspora throughout the year. The third major achievement is the change of style of governance and the effectiveness of the approaches of the government in Armenia, and this has been seen a lot within the Government and particularly within the Ministry over the past three to four months.

Karine Avagyan: Dear Minister, recently, the RA Ministry of Diaspora, in partnership with the Union of Writers of Armenia and the Hrachya Atcharyan Language Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, organized a discussion devoted to contemporary issues of the Armenian language, and the effectiveness of that discussion can be seen in the decisions that were made. Don’t you think there should be a Pan-Armenian Conference devoted to the contemporary issues of Armenian language next year?

Hranush Hakobyan: I think we should hold such a conference after the groups of the Language Institute work and present the results. As far as language is concerned, we need to work hard. The Armenian language is the reflection of an Armenian abroad and the unique “passport” of an Armenian.

Karine Avagyan: Which should be the priority objective of the Ministry of Diaspora in 2017?

Hranush Hakobyan: There are six objectives, and they are all priority objectives that we have talked and written about.

Karine Avagyan: How would you like to see Armenia and Armenians in 2017?

Hranush Hakobyan: I would like to see Armenians as more competitive, more literate and smarter. As for Armenia, I would like to see it more protected, more prosperous and more powerful.

Interview by Karine Avagyan