The delegation led by the RA NA President Hovik Abrahamyan on November 18 arrived in Brazil on an official visit to the Federal Republic of Brazil at the invitation of the President o f the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress Henrique Alves . Deputies Davit Harutyunyan, Artak Davtyan, Naira Zohrabyan, Armen Rustamyan, Heghine Bisharyan, Margarit Yesayan, Samvel Farmanyan, Ruzanna Muradyan, Rubik Hakobyan, Tatshat Vardapetyan are in the official delegation led by the NA President.
In São Paulo the delegation led by the RA NA President visited the RA Consulate in Brazil, where they met with the staff of the Consulate. Hovik Abrahamyan awarded the Consul Hilda Tiruhi Burmayan the NA Medal of Honor for the big contribution in strengthening the Armenian-Brazilian relations. The NA President has highly assessed Mrs Burmayan’s activity and the charity work that her family carries out in Armenia and in Artsakh.
In the Armenian club of São Paulo the RA NA President met with the representatives of the Armenian community of São Paulo and got acquainted with the complex. Hovik Abrahamyan presented the inner political situation of Armenia, the foreign political priorities, highlighted that cooperation of Armenia and Diaspora. The NA President left a note in the Book of Honourable Guests.
The RA NA President’s next meeting was in the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), where a number of issues were discussed with the members of the Armenian structures functioning in Brazil.
In São Paulo the NA President and the members of the delegation visited Surp Grigor Armenian Apostolic Church, laid a wreath and flowers at the monument perpetuating the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. Hovik Abrahamyan met with the members of the Administrative Council, as well as the students and teachers of the Durian School functioning in São Paulo.
In São Paulo Hovik Abrahamyan met with the Mayor Fernando Haddad.
Welcoming Hovik Abrahamyan, Fernando Haddad highlighted the RA NA President’s visit to Brazil and expressed conviction that it would boost the Armenian-Brazilian relations in different spheres. He highly assessed the activity and contribution of the Armenian community in the development of São Paulo.
The Mayor expressed readiness to completely pay the education fees of the Brazilian-Armenian students, who will express wish to get education in the higher educational institutions of Armenia. Presenting the city and the system of administration of São Paulo, Fernando Haddad has noted that São Paulo is the biggest city of Brazil, the territory is 1523 square kilometers, the population is about 21mln with the suburbs, and the GDP is 12%. The Mayor is elected by direct elections for four years.
The NA President has noted that the relations between Brazil and Armenia are on stable bases and has highlighted the development of multi-lateral cooperation with such economically powerful country as Brazil and having heavy weight in international arena. He has thanked the Mayor for showing warm attitude towards the Armenian community and has noted that São Paulo is one of the cities of the Federal Republic of Brazil with many Armenians. In the development of bilateral relations Hovik Abrahamyan has highlighted the decentralized cooperation and the establishment of inter-regional relations, which can have big role in forming active practical relations between the two countries and more expanding them. In this context he has documented with satisfaction the fact of declaring Yerevan and São Paulo sister cities, which has put a basis for the enlivening of educational and cultural life in the two cities, as well as the rapprochement of the relations between the Armenian and Brazilian peoples.
In the course of the meeting the sides have recorded that in the development of bilateral relations a considerable role is reserved to the inter-parliamentary relations and have expressed conviction that the official visit of the Armenian parliamentary delegation will promote the further enlargement of bilateral relations and the strengthening of relations between the friendly peoples.