YEREVAN / VAYOTS DZOR: The first Federal-led Australian Delegation to Armenia have visited prominent Armenian businesses, including Ararat Brandy Factory, Tumo Centre for Creative Technologies, Trinity Canyon Vineyards and Megerian Carpets.
The delegation, organised by the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU), includes three Federal Australian parliamentarians – Tim Wilson MP, John Alexander MP and Trent Zimmerman MP, one State parliamentarian from New South Wales – Hugh McDermott MP, and five Armenian-Australian business leaders.
“It was important to give our delegation a holistic experience of Armenia, and this includes visiting businesses that have found success in the country within its burgeoning sectors of technology and agriculture,” said ANC-AU Executive Director Haig Kayserian.
At Ararat Brandy Company, the delegation were taken through a tour of the largest producer of premium Armenian brandy, before tasting and enjoying some of their best varieties.
Tumo is a completely free, after-school technology training centre for school children. They toured the state-of-the-art robotics and music laboratories, while witnessing some of the innovative projects being worked on by the design and engineering students.
The Tumo team of innovators, led by Pegor Papazian, took the delegation through their international expansion options, which has seen it open centres in Paris and Beirut, with Germany and Tokyo among the destinations to be launched in the coming year. The delegation promised to investigate the possibility of a Tumo in Australia once they return.
“Our delegates were blown away at Tumo, and it is our collective intention to bring this magnificent Armenian export to Australia, for which we were provided a clear roadmap,” added Kayserian.
Picsart, which is a US$250 million technology startup, hosted the delegation on a special tour, which included a walkthrough of the application that is used by over 140 million users per month, including celebrities like Kim Kardashian West and Taylor Swift. The delegation were also able to share an audience with co-founder and chief technology officer, Artavazd Mehrabyan.
The delegation also enjoyed a trip to Trinity Canyon in Armenia’s historic Areni wine region, which was recently discovered to be making wine since 6,200 years. They toured the vineyards, witnessed traditional Armenian winemaking in karas before owner Hovakim Saghatelyan led his guests through an amazing wine-tasting experience.
In the steps of Pope Benedict, celebrities like Conan O’Brien and the Kardashians, Megerian Carpet also hosted the delegation. Here, they were taken through the ancient art of Armenian carpet-weaving before enjoying a cultural performance and entertainment, where they were joined by guests including visiting Australians in Yerevan.
