Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny, Co-Chair Anthony Barsamian, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Board Member Joyce Stein, Public Affairs Associate Danielle Saroyan, Co-Chair Van Krikorian, Board Member Oscar Tatosian, and Joe Stein
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Embassy of the Republic of Armenia, the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, and the Congressional Wine Caucus, in partnership with the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) and Armenian National Committee of America, hosted a reception on Capitol Hill celebrating Armenia’s 26th Independence Day and the Silver Jubilee of United States-Armenia diplomatic relations. The event was sponsored by the Armenian Assembly.
Special guests who attended the event are U.S. State Department Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Bridget Brink, U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe Dale Tasharski, Adjutant General of Kansas Major General Lee E. Tafanelli, U.S. OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Ambassador Andrew Schofer, former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans (2004-2006), Armenian Ambassador to the U.S. Grigor Hovhannissian, Artsakh Permanent Representative to the U.S. Robert Avetisyan, Greek Ambassador to the U.S. Haris Lalacos, Georgian Ambassador to the U.S. David Bakradze, Kazakhstan Ambassador to the U.S. Erzhan Kazykhanov, including other Ambassadors and diplomats, St. Mary Armenian Church Reverend Father Hovsep Karapetyan, and Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) Executive Director Zaven Khanjian, as well as Armenian Assembly Co-Chairs Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian and Board Members Oscar Tatosian and Joyce Stein.
“As we celebrate diplomatic relations between the United States and Armenia, we are honored to have top diplomats who represent our country, both here in the United States to Armenia, and from Armenia to the United States,” Assembly Co-Chair Barsamian said.
Ambassador Hovhannissian welcomed guests, and stated: “We are celebrating our thriving relationship with the United States, a reliable friend and partner that helped Armenia face formidable odds as our country 26 years ago embarked on a nation building mission and embraced the family of freedom loving nations.” He continued: “We celebrate these milestones at the U.S. Congress, in recognition of the leadership role that Congress and its Congressional Caucus on Armenian issues played in fostering and cementing the reestablished relations between our nations. In this jubilee year, we were fortunate to host a large Congressional delegation to Armenia to see the fruits of our cooperation.”
State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Brink, expressing her appreciation for the strong partnership between the U.S. and Armenia, generously credited her longtime working relations with the leadership of the Armenian Assembly. “This year, Armenia celebrates twenty six years of independence. In this time, it is quite remarkable how much progress has been made. We all remember all too well the difficult years immediately after independence. But in a relatively short period of time, Armenia has modernized its economy and has become a tech hub in the region, created a vibrant political system that allows space for civil society, and has built a strong, enduring partnership with the United States, of which I am deeply proud,” she said.