On May 18, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan received members of the Uniting Church in Australia led by President of the Armenian Missionary Association of Australia and Pastor of the Saint Andrew Uniting Church in Longueville Krikor Youmshajekian.

The Minister of Diaspora cordially greeted the guests, attached importance to the role that inter-church relations play in the mutual recognition and cooperation between nations and expressed gratitude to the Uniting Church in Australia for passing a resolution on recognition of the Armenian Genocide during its assembly in 2015. “I am glad that you are visiting the first Christian nation with such a large group. Recently, the Ministry has been collaborating more actively with the Evangelical Church for the solution to the issues facing Syrian-Armenians having moved to Armenia, but we also collaborate more actively in the fields of education and culture. We pay great attention to borderline villages, and I am glad that you have adopted Choratan and are trying to help. As you tour Armenia and Artsakh, I hope you get to know and grow to love our country, share your impressions with many Australians and motivate them to not only visit Armenia, but also make investments in Armenia, the land of great opportunities and perspectives.”

Expressing gratitude for the cordial reception, Krikor Youmshajekian noted that the Armenian Evangelical Church is one of the full-fledged members of the Uniting Church in Australia and informed that this visit to Armenia was organized at the request of the members of the Saint Andrew Uniting Church in Longueville. The goal of the trip is to become more familiar with the culture of the Armenian people and visit the historic and cultural sites in all the regions of Armenia and Artsakh. Youmshajekian also expressed certainty that several Australians and particularly the representatives of the Armenian community of Australia would follow the group’s example and take a journey to discover Armenia.