On March 1, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan received the delegation of the Armenian Representative Office of the American Bar Association (ABA/ROLI), including Program Officer of the American Bar Association (ABA/ROLI) of the Europe and Eurasia Division April Hewko, Deputy Director of the Armenian Representative Office Hasmik Hakobyan and coordinator of the program of the Armenian Representative Office Elena Yarmolyan.

Greeting the guests, Minister Hranush Hakobyan attached importance to the organization’s support and attention to the solution to the legal issues of Syrian-Armenians, as well as the organization’s active partnership and close collaboration with the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia.

The Minister talked about the peculiarities of the activities being carried out with Syrian-Armenians, the experience and the outcomes and particularly stated the following: “Of course, it is very important to know the laws in order to live and work.

The issue of refugees is always problematic. However, in Armenia, there is certain stability in that regard because the refugees are mainly Syrian-Armenians who aren’t viewed as refugees in Armenia. They are in their homeland. However, the newcomers especially need to know Armenian legislation. There are many Syrian-Armenians who request legal consulting.”

April Hewko expressed gratitude for the cordial reception and expressed willingness to collaborate with the Ministry, provide legal assistance to the refugees, as well as support the programs that are being carried out to help Syrian-Armenians become integrated in Armenia, coordinate their issues and solve those issues.

Hasmik Hakobyan stated that the office of the American Bar Association in Armenia was also working on solving the legal issues of Syrian-Armenians and mentioned several issues that require joint solutions and voiced hope that the cooperation between the Ministry and the Center for Coordination of  Syrian-Armenians’ Issues would continue.