President received participants of the 15th Conference of Young Leaders organized by Global Bridges

President Serzh Sargsyan received today participants of the 15th Conference of Young Leaders organized by Global Bridges and attended by the representatives from nearly fifty countries. Present at the meeting was also the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Armenia Matthias Kiesler, President of Global Bridges Hans Albrecht and Executive Vice-Chairman of the Organization Beate Lindemann.

The President of Armenia welcomed the guests and stressed the importance of contacts with young people which in his opinion provide a good opportunity to discuss with the representatives of a younger generation existing challenges and to familiarize with their innovative ideas. “A couple of days ago, in this very hall I met with the members of the Council of the European Youth Forum, and we had a very interesting conversation. I hope that Global Bridges will be working efficiently in Armenia. I am aware that your Organization from day one of its creation has been promoting a dialogue between the representatives from different continents, bringing them closer, strengthening cooperation as well as enhancing youth activities. Objectives of your organization are completely in line with our policies, and we work constantly to ensure the participation of young people in the decision making processes in the different state bodies and most importantly, make them active participants in the implementation of these decisions,” said President Serzh Sargsyan. He spoke about mechanisms which are used in the works with the youth in the legislative and executive bodies and within the Party.

The President highlighted the fact that by visiting Armenia, the participants of the conference have received the opportunity to familiarize to some extend with the history of the Armenian people and go sightseeing. He proposed that later they include in their plans a visit to the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. “I am aware that in your discussions you’ve also touched upon the NK issue. I am confident that a visit there will be the best way to get the idea about that country, its people and authorities because Azerbaijan is trying to keep the NK topic closed, is trying to ban political and cultural figures from different states from visiting Artsakh so that it may carry on with its propaganda with no difficulty,” said President Serzh Sargsyan.

Serzh Sargsyan expressed readiness to respond to the questions raised by the participants of the meeting, which pertained to the current stage of the NK peace process, existing problems and prospects, to the blatant violation in early April of the 1994 ceasefire agreement by Azerbaijan at the NK contact line and unprecedented aggression against the people of Nagorno Karabakh. He also answered questions related to the new opportunities and favorable conditions for foreign investments and development of our economy with the accession of Armenia to the Eurasian Union, the Armenia-EU cooperation and negotiations on a new framework agreement, the process of the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, the significance of the process for the entire mankind, as well as questions related to the regional problems and prospects of development, priorities of the Armenian economy, Armenia-Russia relations, and a number of others.

At the conclusion of the meeting, President Serzh Sargsyan wished every success to the Yerevan Conference organized by Global Bridges.