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Government mulls replacing Diaspora Ministry with High Commissioner’s Office or Committee

Armenpress 13:28, 16 January, 2019

YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The functions of the Diaspora Ministry will be preserved and as a result of the ministry’s dissolution the Diaspora policy may be entrusted to a Diaspora Affairs Committee or a High Commissioner’s Office, ex-minister of Diaspora Mkhitar Hayrapetyan said in parliament today in response to a question from Edmon Marukyan, leader of the opposition Lusavor Hayastan party.

Marukyan told Hayrapetyan that the latter has always emphasized the significance of the Diaspora Ministry when he was minister, and now as a lawmaker he says that the ministry might get closed. “How should we give this message to the Diaspora not to harm the Armenia-Diaspora relations?” Marukyan said.

“We’ve been rather honest with our voters”, Hayrapetyan replied, adding that the optimization program and reduction of the number of ministries has been included in the campaigning message of My Step and has been voiced by PM Nikol Pashinyan.

“An individual institutional structure developing and implementing the policy with the Diaspora will exist,” he said. “Right now we are discussing two models – a Diaspora Affairs Committee or a large office of a High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs in the composition of the government, which will include the best staff of the ministry,” he said.

Hayrapetyan elaborated that in case of a committee, it will function under the foreign ministry.

“What matters is that we will ensure the legacy of the functions. The functions will continue being fulfilled, and there is no concern whether it will be done as an individual agency or an institutional body,” he said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan



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