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one in Beirut, and if I am not wrong 4s one of the ancient The National Geographic Traveller
Tirana and Berlin are following the suit. qualified Armenia not only historical
Many foreign dignitaries were excited nations and thefirst and cultural, but also an extreme
after the visits they paid to the TUMO touristic country with such activities
Centre in Yerevan, and they wanted to Christian country of as skiing, camping, hiking, zip-lining,
replicate it in their own countries. It has paragliding, off road driving.
become a brand on its own.
the world, Armenia Furthermore, Armenia attracts also
In October Armenia will host The World with its numerous museums, galleries,
Congress on Information Technologies, hosts large numbers of concert halls, theaters and hosts more
one of the most important annual events than 40 cultural events and festivals
that envisages to gather together all big historic-archeological annually for lovers of classical music,
names and brands of this field. arts, jazz, films, food, dink and many
There are some other areas of economy sites for almost others. There is much to explore in
that can be of interest, but since we are Armenia.
in Geneva, I would like to mention that al/periods of the
the wine production has substantially Q: Regarding the Middle East, it seems
increased over the years. We have good development of the that you have also received quite a high
brands of wine that are produced in number of refugees from Syria. Could
Armenia. We are one of the oldest wine- humankind. you tell us a little about that?
producing nations in the world, and It is true. Syria is one of the places where
actually, one of the oldest wineries was found in Armenia and Armenians have been living for many centuries, and especially
was estimated to be 6,000 years old. The place is called Areni, since the genocide in Ottoman Empire. Syria was the first
and people still produce wine there. country to open its doors to our people, and therefore many
ended up living there, most of them in Aleppo. As time went
Q: It seems to me that you are in particular famous for by, many of these Armenians later migrated to other places
"Armenian cognac" in the world, but the Aleppo community remains the mother
Yes, Armenian cognac is also a very famous product. During community of the diaspora. Because of this devastating crisis,
Soviet times, the republics had their own visiting cards in many Armenians fled from Syria and so now, according to
different spheres, and in the sphere of producing alcohol, our estimates, there are only 25.000 Armenians left in Syria.
Armenia produced brandy. "Ararat"brand was the most
famous. Armenia continues to produce it, and in fact is one About 22.000 Armenians found refuge in Armenia. At
of the largest producers of brandy in the world, however, in some point Armenia was considered to be the third country
parallel, we are developing our wine production. We have receiving Syrian refugees on per capita basis. The government
already registered some noteworthy success in this regard. has extended every kind of support it could to the Syrian
people, and we have sent several tons of humanitarian
Otherwise, Armenia is famous for its agricultural products. aid. The Consulate General of Armenia in Aleppo was the
My country is considered to be the birthplace of apricot. Its only diplomatic mission in the war torn city to function
scientific name is Prunus Armeniaca, translated as an Armenian uninterruptedly during all these years of war and crisis. The
plum and it can be found on many symbols of Armenia. doors of the Embassy in Damascus also were always open.

There is also a strong mine industry, including gold, copper Q: Mr Ambassador, since you are a newcomer in town, I will
and other minerals. Jewelry and pharmaceuticals are among not ask you all the tricky questions that I normally ask a
main spheres of economy too, but of course the list is not diplomat during an interview, but rather ask if you have a
exhaustive. So, we are trying to catchup with new technologies message for the international community.
and to develop the traditional spheres of economy for the We are here in the city of peace, so, people should listen more
wealth of our nation. to each other, work together in peace and harmony, not only
based upon the national interest but also for the humanity as
Tourism is another important sector of Armenia's economy a whole. I think that the city of the League of Nations, the city
that registered 10% growth last year alone. As one of the of multilateralism and multilateral diplomacy is the best place
ancient nations and the first Christian country of the world, to think about our common future, and to add our voices to
Armenia hosts large number of historic-archeological sites all that has been done through the centuries for making our
for almost all periods of the development of the humankind. life better in a peaceful environment.
This rich heritage includes artifacts of ancient civilization MF
of Urartu, Hellenic temple, medieval castles and fortresses,
magnificent churches and monasteries, together with the
beautiful mosque in the center of capital Yerevan and the
world biggest Yazidi temple.

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