On July 4, RA Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, RA Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan, other state officials, as well as writers from Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora and other guests attended a ceremony dedicated to the 80^th anniversary of the Union of Writers of Armenia held at Hakob Paronyan State Musical Comedy Theater in Yerevan.

The ceremony began with a speech by President of the Union of Writers of Armenia Eduard Militonyan, who presented the history and role of the UWA in the organizing of literary and cultural life, reflection on the relationship between society and politics and the formation of the state ideology.

Militonyan’s speech was followed by a speech by RA Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, who praised the role of the Union of Writers of Armenia in the cultural life of the republic and all Armenians and indicated the difficult road that the UWA has passed and the trials and tribulations that it has undergone with honor.

RA Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan granted commemorative medals to tens of members of the UWA, and the UWA was granted an automobile.

RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan and RA Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan left for Tsakhkadzor to participate in the closing ceremony of the second stage of the “Ari Tun” Program.

Hranush Hakobyan’s speech was presented by RA Deputy Minister of Diaspora Serzh Srapionyan. The minister not only praises the efforts of the Union of Writers of Armenia, but also proposes special programs that Armenian writers should carry out ahead of the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In her speech, Minister Hranush Hakobyan attaches importance to recognition of the tragedy of the Armenians and dissemination of information about it through literature as a more influential method. RA Deputy Minister of Diaspora Serzh Srapionyan read the minister’s decree by which Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, literary critic and publicist Henrik Bakhchinyan was awarded the William Saroyan Medal of the RA Ministry of Diaspora, while publicist, well-known experts in publications, Head of the Department of Modern Arts of the RA Ministry of Culture Seyranuhi Geghamyan was awarded the “Ambassador of the Mother Language” Medal for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the strengthening of Homeland-Diaspora relations and the preservation of the Armenian identity.

RA Deputy Minister of Culture Nerses Ter-Vardanyan read welcome speech of RA Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan and presented the list of recipients of the award granted by the Ministry of Culture.