YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS: Fresno is now home to the country’s first Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia, Armenpress reports.

Armenian dignitaries and Fresno County representatives hosted an inaugural ceremony for the new consul on October 20 on the eighth floor of the Pacific Southwest Building.

Berj Apkarian, executive director of physician relations at Community Medical Centers, was announced as honorary consul during the annual State of the County address last month. He immigrated to Fresno from Syria in 1979.

Apkarian said the voluntary appointment is an honor and a privilege. For his first big project as consul, Apkarian said he wants to take a team of medical and dental professionals to Armenia next October to host a medical education conference and provide free care for needy people in rural communities.

“In addition to the project itself, my goal is to establish a closer tie between the central San Joaquin Valley and Armenian commerce, (culture, medicine) — all aspects of bringing two nations and communities closer,” he said.

Armenians first arrived in Fresno in the 1870s and continued through the Hamidian Massacres of the late 1800s, the Armenian Genocide from 1915-1922, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Republic of Armenia. The community has since established local educational institutions, such as Fresno State’s Armenian Studies Program, religious organizations, two Armenian-American newspapers — Asbarez and The California Courier, and a yearly cultural festival.

Now, between 40,000 and 50,000 Fresno area residents are Armenian, Apkarian said.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by representatives from Armenia, the Armenian-American community, members of Congress and the California state legislature, as well as county and other local officials, including Tigran Sargsyan, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia in the United States and Sergey Sarkisov, Consul General for the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles.