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On August 29, in the NA Session Hall the meeting with Annual Conference of the RA MFA Apparatus and the Heads of RA Diplomatic Service Abroad Participants was held.

The RA NA President Ararat Mirzoyan welcomed the participants of the event.

The RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Zohrab Mnatsakanyan delivered a speech.

To the assessment of the Chair of the RA NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Ruben Rubinyan, this format of the contact is unprecedented, but also logical and expressive, taking into consideration the role of the parliament in the implementation of the foreign policy of our country and the cooperation parliament-MFA-diplomatic missions.

“The role of the parliament in this sphere is based on three main components. The first is the very parliamentary diplomacy, which should be initiative, coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supporting and complementing as much as possible to the inter-state relations. The foreign policy pursued by the government should be able to be relied on the results of the political contacts and cooperation of the National Assembly with other states’ parliaments, and here the establishment of effective cooperation is very important between the Friendship Groups, the delegations of the National Assembly in the international organizations and our diplomatic missions in the relevant countries and international organizations, as well as between the MFA appropriate departments.

The second component is the parliamentary oversight. In this respect, the mission of the National Assembly is the foreign policy being pursued for making understandable and controllable for our citizens. And the way to reach that is the continuous provision of the accountability of the government in different processes and directions, as well as the organization of the hearings, the creation of the new and inclusive platforms of the discussions, and in this matter the active participation and cooperation is again necessary of the MFA and our Ambassadors.

The second component is the creation of the foreign political content and delegation in the National Assembly. This is, let me note, the most important component among those being enumerated, because the role of the National Assembly in the parliamentary country cannot be restricted only by the visits and works of the parliamentary delegations and Friendship Groups. Yes, the National Assembly forming the Government and approving the programme of the government can and shall create content on the foreign policy,” the Committee Chair said.

According to Ruben Rubinyan, the foreign policy of any country is the continuation of the inner policy and its reflection, and it is very important that our diplomats always attentively observe the inner-political developments and agendas of Armenia and they are aware of them and they perceive them in depth.

The Committee Chair opined that the 2018 Velvet Revolution was a movement borne from the disappointment accumulated for many years for democracy, justice and rights.

“The democratic essence of Armenia and the realization of our people’s sovereignty is already a reality. Armenia is a state with a wide-scale democratic reform agenda which is not dictated and cannot be dictated from outside, because this is our own agenda: the result of our fight, our revolution, our desires and our goals, and our foreign policy should be built within the contour of this very reality,” He underscored.

Touching upon the cooperation over the reform agenda with the international colleagues, he has noted that there is no need to do it for foreign legitimacy or for money.

“We do that because we want it, because the democracy and justice are Armenian values. And, consequently, any Convention that we’ll ratify or not ratify, any concept that we’ll accept or will not accept, any programme that we’ll implement or not implement, we exclusively make decision, exclusively for ourselves with the realization of exclusively own agenda and values,” Ruben Rubinyan documented.

Speaking about the Karabakh problem, he has noted that the man is the prior in the focus of the conflict, his freedom and rights and the opportunity of advancing and developing.

“The freedom of Artsakh and the control of the territories vital for the security of its population is a reality, not because we, all of us, wanted, not because it is our national caprice, but also because the people made such decision, the Artsakh people, because it has been and continues to be the only way to provide the Artsakh people’s realization of the rights and the guarantee of its real protection. And thus, in the context of the Karabakh problem the security and status of Artsakh are our priorities, and these priorities stem from the eagerness of freedom and progress and the human fundamental rights,” the speaker said.

The Committee Chair also talked about other problems of foreign political agenda.

During the Conference the representatives of the parliamentary factions also delivered speeches.

The Head of the NA My Step Faction Lilit Makunts highlighted the holding of the Annual Conference of RA MFA Apparatus and Heads of RA Diplomatic Service Abroad Participants.

“The National Assembly formed as a result of snap parliamentary elections is one of the important pillars of providing democracy in the RA. We, as legislators, do our best for providing plurality and freedom of speech, and to my conviction, all the achievements being noticed in the inner-political front also should promote the implementation of more effective, confident and initiative foreign policy. The very inner democracy promotes our Ambassadors to act from firm positions and more consistently and steadfastly advance the interests of the Republic of Armenia. In this respect I express my deep gratitude to everybody for your work and devotion,” Lilit Makunts underlined.

She opined that higher landmarks should be established for the parliamentary diplomacy in the country of the parliamentary government. Lilit Makunts noted that the legislative-executive close work and cooperation in the foreign policy had already been given results, expressed confidence that the joint efforts would bring new achievements.

Touching upon the Karabakh conflict and the peaceful negotiation process in the context of the parliamentary diplomacy, the Head of the faction has noted that Artsakh first of all is considered to be our compatriots living their cradle and the provision of their security.

“We’ll continue speaking about the right of self-determination and existential security of our compatriots living in Artsakh on all platforms of parliamentary diplomacy. The further “humanization” process of Artsakh issue is unstoppable. We continuously stress that the RA is the warrant of Artsakh security, and here there cannot be a second opinion, but I would like also to underscore that Artsakh in its turn, is the collective security warrant for the Armenian people,” the speaker documented.

The Secretary of the NA Prosperous Armenia Faction Arman Abovyan emphasized the event, during which it would be possible to understand and specify the ways of classical and parliamentary diplomacy and form a system of distinct steps.

Arman Abovyan talked about the importance of the fair solution of Artsakh conflict, underlining that in this issue much is also conditioned by the work of the RA Embassies. The Secretary of the faction touched upon the main vision of the formation of the RA foreign relations. According to the speaker, particularly the brotherly and strategic relations with the RF have an opportunity for more deepening and developing them.

“The RA has all opportunities, and it is able to become not only a platform of regional, but also of discussion for disagreements,” the speaker noted.

Arman Abovyan also touched upon the RA-Diaspora cooperation and highlighted the Embassies’ coordinated work.

The Head of the RA NA Bright Armenia Faction Edmon Marukyan in his speech referred to the achievements of those implementing diplomatic mission before the revolution.

“Being a CSTO member state, we are the only one that has deep cooperation with the NATO, and being a EEU member state, we are the only one that has signed an Agreement with the EU,” the Head of the Faction said.

Emphasizing the parliamentary diplomacy Edmon Marukyan urged the Ambassadors to actively cooperate with the legislative body while forming the parliamentary diplomacy. He attached importance to the fair presentation of the Artsakh conflict by the Armenian delegates on the international platforms.