Friday, 26 March 2021
Tigran Avinyan attends video conference with Diaspora representatives
On March 25, 2021, Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan participated in a video conference initiated by representatives from the Armenia-North America Medical Communities (USA-Canada). Issues related to charitable goods imported to Armenia were discussed during the event.
The Deputy Prime Minister delivered greeting remarks:
Dear friends, welcome to this video conference. First and foremost, I would like to express our appreciation for the support of our Diaspora-based compatriots provided to the Homeland.
The Diaspora has always stood by Armenia. The war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh was no exception in this regard. Both the material and moral support received from the Diaspora was crucial for us in those days, for which I would like to thank each of our compatriots individually.
The regular consultations with our Diaspora-based compatriots gives us an opportunity to learn each other’s opinions, views as well as exchange necessary information. We are quite open to suggestions, since it is very important to find solutions together to the problems facing our homeland in an atmosphere of mutual understanding.
The topic of today’s discussion is the import of charitable cargo. We know that there are some misunderstandings concerning the regulatory framework applicable to humanitarian freight, which, we believe, is due to the lack of information.
I want to inform you that steps are being taken in this direction. During the war, our government simplified procedures as much as possible to avoid unnecessary hassles. As early as in January, all Armenian embassies were provided detailed guidelines as to what steps to take to avoid complications. We also provided contacts to get in touch with the staff of the Humanitarian Department, through which the project implementer could be informed in advance about the steps to take.
A short introductory video about the applicable procedures has already been posted on the Government’s official social pages. It will also be spread through our embassies’ social media pages in the nearest future. We are trying to possibly avoid problems and raise the level of public awareness.
Some members of our staff, as well as from other governmental bodies have joined today’s discussion and will be glad to answer your questions. The conversation is expected to be productive and meaningful.”
The video conference was attended by employees from the Office of Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan, as well as by staff representing other government agencies. Issues related to the customs clearance of humanitarian freight, cargo distribution mechanisms, demand for charitable cargo and cooperation with Armenia’s authorized entity were discussed during the video conference.
