Ziad Atallah: Armenian- Lebanese political ties nearly perfectNovember 22, 2011 - 10:19 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Lebanon and Armenia have been long-time friends; since the unfortunate events of early 20th century, the Lebanese of Armenian descent are highly involved in cultural, political, social and economic life of the country, Lebanese charge d'affaires a.i. to Armenia Ziad Atallah stated in a conversation with a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. On November 22, Lebanon is celebrating the 68th anniversary of independence, with the country having greatly contributed to salvation of Armenian Genocide survivors. Lebanon’s unique governmental structure allowed Armenians’ active involvement in the social and political life of the country. Lebanon’s becoming the first democratic state in Middle East promoted the country’s cosmopolitan governmental structure, freedom of speech, media and religion. “We have 6 Armenian MPs, 2 ministers, one is minister of industry. This is a part that can’t be removed from Lebanon’s reality,” the diplomat stressed to point out close ties between the two countries. Mr. Atallah assessed Armenian President’s oncoming visit to Lebanon in early December and agreements to be signed as a big push for bilateral cooperation. “Armenian-Lebanese relations are nearly perfect politically; we don’t have any pending issues or problems. However, the economic relations are far below expected. This is where we should work very hard by encouraging Lebanese businessmen to invest in Armenia and vice-versa,” the charge d'affaires stressed, noting sectors of IT, agriculture, trade, business, educational programs and cultural exchange as promising. Top stories The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Yerevan City Council has elected Tigran Avniyan from the ruling Civil Contract as the mayor of the Armenian capital. The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday, October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. |