On June 19, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Ara Babloyan received the delegation led by Presidential Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus for Humanitarian Affairs and Overseas Cypriots Fotiou Fotis. RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan was also attending the meeting.

Welcoming the delegation’s visit to the National Assembly, Ara Babloyan highly appreciated the existing political dialogue between Cyprus and Armenia and stated the following: “The parliamentary relations between Cyprus and Armenia have entered a new stage thanks to the joint efforts made over the past few years, and today, the inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries is excellent.”

The Speaker of the National Assembly expressed his gratitude to the friendly people of Cyprus for extending a helping hand to the migrants who escaped the Armenian Genocide in 1915 and for becoming the first European country to recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide in 1975. According to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Cyprus and Armenian have always supported each other’s positions on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the Cyprus issue.

The parliamentary speaker voiced hope that there would be a fair solution to the issue facing Cyprus.

Ara Babloyan also touched upon the support that Cypriot and Armenian parliamentary delegations show to each other within international organizations and attached importance to cooperation at those levels as well.

Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Overseas Cypriots Fotiou Fotis expressed gratitude for the reception, noting that the two countries have very historic commonalities and ancient cultures on which the friendship between the two nations is hinged.

Fotiou Fotis also touched upon the Armenian community of Cyprus which, according to him, plays a major role in the strengthening and development of the friendly relations with the Republic of Armenia.

Fotis stated that Cyprus and Armenia must deepen their cooperation in the economic, cultural and religious sectors and join efforts to fight for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the solution to the issues facing the two countries.