Day: February 16, 2024

On February 15 Armenia’s Ambassador to US Lilit Makunts had a meeting with Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Florida).

Priority areas of Armenia-US bilateral relations, challenges facing Armenia were addressed during the meeting.

At the invitation of the Government of New Zealand, Armenian Ambassador Areg Hovhannisian participated in the official ceremony celebrating the country’s national holiday, the Waitangi Day. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between a number of leaders of the indigenous Maori tribes and the British settlers, resulting in the cessation of conflict between the parties and the formation of a diverse society in which the rights of different communities are respected accordingly. About 50 Ambassadors from the capital Wellington, as well as non-resident Ambassadors from Canberra, Tokyo, and Singapore, arrived to participate in the events.

The events were attended by thousands of visitors from different cities of New Zealand, both from the native Maori and from the newly settled communities, representatives of various religious groups.

The diplomatic corps had meetings with the Governor-General of New Zealand H.E. Dame Cindy Kiro, Maori leaders and dined with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Winston Peters.

During the meeting with Maori leaders Ambassador Hovhannisian mentioned that he came from distant Tokyo to pay tribute to the communities of New Zealand, who managed to find the way of peaceful coexistence 180 years ago, who still do not stop working on it, improving and strengthening the efforts to build a harmonious society, whereas in other parts of the world, and in particular in our region, the logic of solving existing problems through violence and ethnic cleansing dominates.

Ambassador Hovhannisian called on democracies like New Zealand, for the sake of human rights protection and democracy, not to remain indifferent to the violence and injustices carried out in other countries.