May 22, 2003

Raffi Hovannisian Receives US, UK, OSCE Ambassadors

Yerevan—Raffi K. Hovannisian, Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs and founder of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS), met today with US Ambassador John Ordway. During the meeting they discussed Armenian-American relations as well as domestic and regional developments.

Later in the day, Raffi Hovannisian held a private meeting with the head of the OSCE Election Observation Mission, Ambassador Robert Barry. The in-depth discussion focused mainly on Armenia’s past presidential and upcoming parliamentary elections.

Hovannisian also hosted Linda Duffield, Director for Wider Europe of the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She was accompanied by British Ambassador Thorda Abbott-Watt.

Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K. Hovannisian, and supported by the Lincy Foundation and a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider understanding of the new global environment. In 2003, the Center focuses primarily on public outreach, civic education, and applied research on critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.

For further information on the Center and its activities, call (37410) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; e-mail root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am