On July 14, the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Lebanon hosted the meeting of representatives of Armenian media outlets of Lebanon with Minister of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia Hranush Hakobyan.

From the outset, Editor-in-Chief of Aztag Daily, chairman of the Coordinating Body for Pan-Armenian Forums of Journalists Shahan Kandaharian expressed his greetings to the attendees and the Minister.

Afterwards, Minister Hranush Hakobyan touched upon the congress that the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia recently held in Bikfaya under the title “The Diaspora Facing New Horizons: The Self-Understanding of a Diaspora Armenian”. Presenting the issues that were discussed, the Minister stressed the fact that the media play a major and irreplaceable role in preserving the Armenian identity. Hranush Hakobyan emphasized that the focus must be on young Armenians and that there should always be bonds with them through various electronic means to present the figures and events that can make them feel great and proud and help them feel proud of their Armenian identity.

The Minister said it was also important to keep the spotlight on the issue of Artsakh, placing emphasis on maintenance of the liberated lands, as well as to touch upon the reforms taking place in Armenia, especially Armenia’s new economic policy that will allow investors and businesspersons to have more opportunities. Hranush Hakobyan stressed the fact that Armenian media outlets must work in such a way that the laws of Armenia that seem somewhat complicated are presented in a simpler way and are accessible for businesspersons so that they realize that there are opportunities to do business in the homeland.

Expressing gratitude to the media outlets for keeping the public updated about the multifaceted activities of the Ministry of Diaspora, Hranush Hakobyan attached importance to their work in this regard because, as she noted, Armenian media outlets are the hope, weapon, ambassadors and representatives of the Ministry through which the Ministry meets the Diaspora’s demands and expectations and introduces Diaspora Armenians to the activities of the Ministry.

In closing, Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan talked about the 6^th Armenia-Diaspora Pan-Armenian Conference, which will be held in September and will gather 1,500-1,600 Armenians who will show the power and unity of the Armenian nation. The Minister said such events also serve as the best opportunity to show enemies the power of the Armenians and foster the establishment of relations between various communities of the Diaspora and help create new horizons for cooperation. The Minister talked about the meetings, roundtable discussions, cultural events and visits to be organized during the conference and wished that representatives of the Armenian media outlets of Lebanon would also participate in this important conference.