On October 16, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan received Emergency Situations Project Officer of SOS Children’s Villages International for CIS countries and Eastern and Central Europe Esther Cosa; Public Relations Officer Katerina Ilievska; President of the Board of Trustees of SOS Children’s Villages Foundation Ashot Yesayan; National Director of the Foundation Ashot Kocharyan and Project Development Officer Susan Badeyan.

Cordially greeting the guests, the Minister highly appreciated the mission of SOS Children’s Villages International and the activities of the SOS Children’s Villages Foundation of Armenia that are aimed at organizing and enhancing the care for children deprived of parental care and in dire situations. The Minister attached special importance to the consistent implementation and enhancement of such humanitarian projects, especially the creation of Youth Homes in Armenia. The Minister of Diaspora expressed gratitude to the Foundation for supporting the solutions to Syrian-Armenians’ issues.

Minister Hranush Hakobyan presented the activities being carried out to solve the issues of Syrian-Armenians having settled in Armenia due to the Syrian war and the organizing of their integration. She touched upon the peculiarities of the activities, as well as the Syrian-Armenians’ problems with employment, professional training and housing. The Minister stated that even though Armenia has solved the Syrian-Armenians’ health-related, educational, social and other issues, their problems with housing and employment remain unsolved and emphasized that it would be easier to solve these problems jointly with international organizations.

The Minister attached importance to proper presentation of the problems of Syrian-Armenians in the international arenas in order to draw the international community’s attention to Armenia.

“The region is in a tense situation, and the flow of Syrian-Armenians to Armenia continues. By creating conditions for them, we are also mitigating the flow to European and other countries. It is necessary to carry out joint projects that will help Syrian-Armenians settle in Armenia,” Minister Hranush Hakobyan added.