President received representatives of the Madrid Club and Aurora Prize selection committee

Today, around a tea table at the Presidential Palace President Serzh Sargsyan hosted representatives of the Madric Club and Aurora Prize selection committee. Among them members of the Madrid Club, former President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa and former President of Botswana Festus Mogae, who were invited to participate at the Award Prize award ceremony in Yerevan, as well as the former President of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo, who is a member of the Aurora Prize selection committee.

The President of Armenia welcomed the guests to Armenia and noted that their participation to the Aurora Prize award ceremony proves that the international repute of the Aurora Prize increases from year to year and its ideology is truly based on all human values. Undescoring that progressive humanity makes huge efforts to establish stability, peace, and solidarity in the world, President Sargsyan at the same time noted with regret that today too people regularly witness mass killings and carnage, hatred propaganda, descrimination based on religious, racial, language difference, the intended distruction of cultural heritage. “All this shows that it is necessary to invigorate the fight against such crimes and certainly encourage people who are engaged in the immediate fight with the crimes.

“We are grateful to you personaly, thank you that through your activities you help to conduct that fight,” President Sargsyan said and underlined that the participants of the meeting and all nominees of the Aurora Prize deserve the utmost respect. Their stories are the stories of exceptional courage and selflessness and are very moving, but at the same time insprining and encouraging.

At the meeting, President Sargsyan and representatives of the Madric Club and Aurora Prize selection committee exchanged views on the priorities of Armenia’s domestic and foreign policy, the NK peace process, a number of pressing international issues, the current level of Armenia’s cooperation with other countries and international organizations, and prospects.

Experienced state, public and political figures hosted at the Presidential Palace also shared information on the reforms going on in different areas in their countries.
President Serzh Sargsyan responded to the questions raised by the participants of the meeting.