On September 17 the RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan received the delegation led by John Pèrez , Speaker of the U.S. California State Assembly who arrived in Armenia on an official visit.

Welcoming the guests and highlighting their visit to Armenia the RA NA Speaker expressed conviction that it would greatly boost the enlivening and deepening of existing relations between Armenia and California. “I am glad that I host the delegation of the legislative body of California,  the Motherland of one of the biggest economically most powerful and biggest community of the Armenian Diaspora of the United States of America, where are also legislators of Armenian origin Khatcho Achadjian and Adrin Nazarian,” Hovik Abrahamyan noted. He mentioned with satisfaction that since independence the Armenian-American relations have distinguished with high level of political contacts and today also those relations are of upward development. Highly assessing the Armenian-American cooperation in different levels the NA Speaker emphasized the expansion of inter-parliamentary relations in the context of bilateral cooperation. “Today the parliamentary diplomacy has a big role not only in the development of multilateral, but also inner-state relations,” the NA Speaker said. By Hovik Abrahamyan’s conviction, the cooperation of the RA National Assembly and California State Assembly will turn into cooperation with multilateral format.

Thanking for the warm reception the Speaker of the U.S. California State Assembly expressed conviction that their visit would promote the deepening of bilateral cooperation in different directions, the activation and development of inter-parliamentary relations. He deemed important the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the spheres of economy, culture, science, education and other spheres between California and Armenia. Mr Pèrez highly assessed the role of the Armenian community in the political, economic, cultural and scientific-educational life of California.

In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the settlement of the NK problem, the Armenian-Turkish relations, regional external political developments. Presenting the process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Hovik Abrahamyan noted: “The Republic of Armenia has constantly expressed its constructive position in favor of solving the conflict only through peaceful means, on the basis of three internationally recognized principles within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. The People of Artsakh has won its right of living free and should not be ignored by the international community,” Noting that the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide is in 2015, the NA Speaker stressed that recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by the international community we observe as the best guarantee of preventing such crimes. He noted with satisfaction that during many years the authorities of California has permanently adopted resolutions at state and local levels, paying tribute to the memory of innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide and strictly condemned it. “Nevertheless, I think California should continue to be more consistent in recognizing the Armenian Genocide at the U.S. state level. John Perez, Speaker of the U.S. California District Assembly noted that the state plans to hold wide scale events in connection with the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, including a memorial complex of Armenian Genocide is envisaged to create in Los Angeles.

In the course of the meeting other issues of bilateral interest were discussed.

At the end of the meeting the RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan awarded by John Pèrez , Speaker of the U.S. California State Assembly the NA Medal of Honor for the development of the inter-parliamentary relations between the U.S. State Assembly and the RA NA, as well as for big contribution in strengthening of Armenian-American relations.

John Perez, Speaker of the U.S. California State Assembly, invited the NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan to California on an official visit.