CANBERRA: The co-convenors of the Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Union (Friendship Group), Trent Zimmerman MP and Joel Fitzgibbon MP have congratulated their colleagues in Armenia's equivalent friendship group on the occasion of 29th anniversary of the country's independence, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
The Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Union looks forward to working together with their Armenian counterparts "to strengthen the relationship" between their two countries, said the letter co-signed by Member for North Sydney Zimmerman and Member for Hunter Fitzgibbon, who is Australia's former Defence Minister.
The letter addressed to the Chair of the Armenian National Assembly's Armenia-Australia Friendship Group, Arman Boshyan MP reads: "We are writing to convey our best wishes to you and all members of the National Assembly on Armenian Independence Day 2020. It is 29 years since Armenians celebrated their emergence as a vibrant new nation following independence from the Soviet Union and the yoke of communism."
"In the period since, Armenians have worked to create a vibrant democracy. The strength of that democratic sentiment among Armenians was obvious to the world during the Velvet Revolution. We admire the efforts of your government to create a modern democracy and economy."
"COVID-19 means that this year’s celebrations will inevitably be different to previous years and we share your hopes that the world and our respective nations can emerge from the pandemic as soon as possible. You have our ongoing friendship and we look forward to working with you to strengthen the relationship between our two great nations in the years ahead."
ANC-AU Executive Director Haig Kayserian thanked the co-convenors of the Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Union for their support.
"Armenian-Australians are grateful for these warm words of congratulations to our nation of origin from Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Fitzgibbon, and we look forward to continuing to facilitate the dialogue between the Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Union in Canberra and their Yerevan counterparts," said Kayserian.
There were also social media messages of congratulations from several parliamentarians throughout 21st September 2020, including from the only Federal Australian parliamentarian with Armenian heritage, Tim Wilson MP, Senator Kristina Keneally, John Alexander MP, Jason Falinski MP and Dr. Hugh McDermott MP.
