YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–Armenian presidential press service reported that a plenary session of the committee organizing an Armenian-Diaspora Relations Conference–was held Wednesday–presided over by President Robert Kocharian.
In December–Kocharian issued a decree calling for the Armenia-Diaspora Relations Conference to be held in September in Armenia. A governmental organizing committee–headed by the president–was also formed.
Present at Wednesday’s meeting Armenia’s Constitutional Court chairman Gagik Harutunian.
"Today’s events signal the need for a new approach to Armenia-Diaspora relation," said Kocharian during his opening remarks.
The president added that the conference aims to resolve issues related to the national coordination of Armenia-Diaspora relations as an impetus for national unity and establish the necessary mechanisms to carry out programs emanating from the meeting.
Meetings to address issues to be discussed at conference are scheduled to be convened in the US and Europe.
Committee members stated that several projects had already been undertaken to ensure that the conference would reach its intended aims.
