Wednesday, 14 March 2018
Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan Visits Haigazian University and Zommarvank Monastery in Lebanon
On March 13, the second day of his official visit to Lebanon, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan visited the Armenian spiritual and educational-cultural centers in Beirut.
The head of the Armenian government first visited Haigazian University where he met with faculty and students. During the Premier’s a tour of the university, Rector Paul Haydostian introduced Karen Karapetyan to educational institution’s activities and academic programs, as well as to the monument commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and a rocket monument installed in the yard of the university, the author of which is an Armenian engineer.
Karen Karapetyan got acquainted with the works of Armenian painter Raffi Yedalyan and made a note in the Book of Honor of Haigazian University. The Prime Minister appreciated Haigazian University’s contribution to Armenian Studies, describing it as extremely important and necessary.
“I was very much impressed to see here, in Beirut, a similar educational center which stands out among other Armenian, international and tolerant cultures. This is extremely important and encouraging. I want to thank you for your work and wish you inexhaustible energy because there is nothing more rewarding than education. We need you very much and are grateful for your dedication to the preservation of the Armenian identity,” the Premier said, addressing the university staff.
Touching upon the agenda of his official visit to Lebanon, Karen Karapetyan noted that he had held productive meetings with the Lebanese leadership, the business community and the banking sector representatives.
“We are grateful for Lebanon’s warm attitude toward the Armenian community. We are grateful for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide and for the hospitality and assistance shown to our compatriots during the Genocide. But we also noted that the economic component lags far behind our high-level, I would even say fraternal and friendly political relations. In this regard, we formulated and presented Armenia’s economic assets and opportunities.
I am convinced that we have aroused specific interest among Lebanon’s business circles, including the banking sector, and we will have the necessary feedback in the near future. We talked much about our recent economic growth: Armenia’s economic growth turned out to be much higher than the regional average, and we are well poised for ensuring continued and sustainable growth in the country.
We know which way t lead the country in order to reach the proposed horizon, and I want to assure you that we will have a very good, logical, just and developing country,” the Prime Minister said.
Karen Karapetyan’s next port of call was the Bzommarvank monastery, one of the most outstanding Armenian cultural and spiritual centers in Lebanon, where the Head of Government met with the representatives of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate and the members of the congregation. Karen Karapetyan toured the monastic complex, the museum and the nearby chapel. The Premier hailed the congregation’s efforts toward the preservation of our centuries-old cultural heritage and national identity.
