ArmInfo. Special Envoy of Canada to the European Union and Europe, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Germany Stephane Dion held a number of meetings with the parliamentary forces of Armenia.
Thus, according to the press service of the RA Parliament, on February 28, Dion met with chairman of the "Civil Contract" faction Hayk Konjoryan.
The interlocutors discussed the process of democratic reforms in Armenia and in this context the prospects for the Armenian-Canadian cooperation. Particular attention is paid to parliamentary diplomacy and cooperation between the two countries in the international arena. The possibilities of developing the institutional potential of the National Assembly were discussed.
The Canadian diplomat also met with head of the "I Have Honor" faction of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Artur Vanetsyan and secretary of the faction Hayk Mamijanyan. Touching upon the goals of the visit, Stephane Dion noted that over the past five years, the Canadian Parliamentary Center has been working with the RA National Assembly in order to support the development of parliamentary democracy in the republic.
He informed that the body was working in the parliament on the development of a strategic plan, the implementation of which will increase the professionalism and efficiency of the apparatus, and asked to evaluate this initiative.
Vanetsyan said that he considers it important to implement any program that can contribute to the development of the country's democratic institutions and increase their effectiveness.
The head of the faction also touched upon the formation of the Armenian parliament, which took place in unusual conditions and violations of the basic principles of human rights. According to him, democratic institutions in Armenia either do not function or function in a peculiar way.
Then Dion met with chairman of the "Armenia" faction of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan. The Canadian diplomat also inquired about the opinion of the "Armenia" faction on the strategic development plan.
Ohanyan positively assessed the implementation of such programs, which are aimed at developing democratic institutions in the country. He stressed the importance of having staff members with many years of experience in parliament and pointed out the problems he had noticed that hindered democracy.
Seyran Ohanyan attached importance to Armenia's bilateral and multilateral relations with Canada, the European Union, as well as European countries, noting that they are based on democracy, gender equality, protection of human rights and security, peace and other issues.
With regards to the consequences of the 44-day war unleashed against Artsakh by Azerbaijan, the Head of the Faction attached importance to voicing of targeted assessments by the international community and the right and full response to the committed crimes. "After war the rhetoric of Azerbaijan and Turkey and the crimes committed by them towards the borders of the Republic of Armenia and invasion of our borders should be worthy evaluated in a way, as today the European whole community tries to respond to the situation in Ukraine," Seyran Ohanyan said.
Regarding the parliamentary system of government, Ohanyan noted that it needs to be reformed.