On May 22, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Sweden Artak Apitonyan delivered a lecture devoted to the 100^th anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia during the conference hosted by the Center for Russian and Caucasian Studies at Malmö University.

As reported the press service of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Hayern Aysor, in his speech, the Ambassador touched upon the significance of the First Republic of Armenia for the past and present of the Armenian people and the challenges facing Armenian statehood restored after an interval of more than five centuries. The Ambassador added that the establishment of statehood was made possible through the self-sacrificing endeavors that the Armenian people made in the heroic battles of May, proving that the Armenian people have the right to shape an independent country.

Ambassador Apitonyan also presented the lessons learned from the experience of the First Republic of Armenia that had a fundamental impact on the declaration and establishment of the Republic of Armenia in 1991 and on effective governance.

Political scientist, Professor Alexander Markarov gave an extensive speech devoted to the topic via a long distance call from Yerevan.

After the speeches, the Ambassador answered questions from the attendees.

On the same day, the Ambassador met with Rector of the Malmö University Sherstin Tam and Deputy Rector Pierre Hilburihe and briefly informed them about the cooperation that Armenia’s universities have established with several Swedish universities and the exchange programs that are carried out for students and lecturers of Armenian universities at various Swedish universities through the programs of the Swedish Institute. During the meeting, they discussed issues on the cooperation between the Malmö University and Armenia’s universities.