Yerevan, 30 November 2022

Delegation visits Yerevan to finalise twinning project between parliaments of Greece and Armenia

In the framework of the completion of the Hellenic-Armenian parliaments' Twinning project, a Hellenic Parliament delegation, consisting of Pericles Mandas, Anastasios Bartzokas and Konstantinos Zachariadis, visited the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, accompanied by officials.

The twinning program of the two parliaments, funded by the European Commission, with the participation of the Italian Parliament, aims to support and provide expertise to the National Assembly of Armenia on parliamentary procedures, regarding monitoring of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) implementation, which includes the two parties’ cooperation in specific policy areas and the rapprochement of Armenian legislation with the EU acquis.

The public event held to celebrate the completion of the Twinning program was attended, by the Chair of the Armenian Parliament Standing Committee on European Integration Arman Yeghoyan, the Secretary General Vahan Naribekyan, and members of the National Assembly of Armenia, the member of the Italian House of Representatives and Chair  of the Italy-Armenia Friendship Group Giulio Centemero, as well as the Ambassadors of Greece, Italy and the EU in Armenia Evangelos Tournakis, Alfonso di Riso and Andrea Wiktorin respectively. All participants confirmed their commitment to the project’s objectives and to the strengthening of EU-Armenia cooperation in support of democratic institutions.

Mr Mantas, representing the President of the Hellenic Parliament, welcomed the strong ties built between the parliaments through the programme. He underlined  Armenia’s potential to become a bridge between Europe and the Caucasus region and stressed that Greece will support the deepening of  EU-Armenia relations, adding that the Hellenic Parliament will provide help to the Armenian National Assembly in its European path and in strengthening bilateral relations with Greece.

The event concluded with a panel discussion on the role of parliaments in deepening democracy and bringing young people closer to politics. During the discussion, Mr Zachariadis emphasised the need for the political system’s adaptation to crises and for response to the needs and concerns of citizens and young people in particular as a necessary condition for strengthening the interest of the youth in politics, also underlining the importance of upgrading the quality of democracy. Mr Bartzokas commented that strengthening of young people's trust in parliamentary institutions will only result from promoting transparency, accessibility and inclusion, so that citizens feel a part both of the legislative process and of control over the executive power, which is exercised by parliamentarians.

During the visit to Yerevan, from 28 to 30 November 2022, the Greek MPs met with the Chairman of the European Integration Committee of the Armenian Parliament Arman Yeghoyan, and members Sona Ghazaryan and Arsen Torosyan. Finally, the Greek delegation visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum on Tsitsernakaberd hill in Yerevan.​

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