Today, Republic of Armenia High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan met with the Ambassador of the French Republic, Ms Anne Louyot, in preparing for Mr. Sinanyan's visit with the Armenian community in France. The visit, Mr. Sinanyan's first in his current capacity, will take place from February 8-19.

The High Commissioner will attend the Coordination Committee for Armenian organisations in France’s (CCAF) yearly dinner. Then, he will meet with representatives of Armenian organizations and institutions, will visit community churches, schools and cultural centers, as well as meet with a number of political leaders at the national and local level.

Mr. Sinanyan explained to the Ambassador the unique role that this community played in the context of the Diaspora and its unwavering support for the people and the state of Armenia in these difficult times. He communicated his understanding for the profound roots that this community has in the French Republic. He explained that his first objective, in going to France, was to share his existing policies and programs with the Armenians of France - programs such as iGorts, the Repatriation and Integration Center, Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program, and others - and to encourage French Armenians to actively participate. His second objective is to discuss the steps in furtherering this cooperation and the involvement of French-Armenians in Armenia.

The Ambassador expressed her keen interest for this initiative and underlined the crucial role that friends of Armenia among French civil society play in strengthening relations between our two countries, particularly in the economic, cultural and humanitarian fields. The Ambassador and the High Commissioner agreed to meet again at the end of Mr. Sinanyan's visit to France in order to have an exchange regarding possible synergies between the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs and the French Embassy to the benefit of French-Armenian bilateral relations.