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On October 25 the RA NA President Hovik Abrahamyan received the delegation led by the Mayor of Marseille Jean-Claude Gaudin.

The NA President awarded the Mayor of Marseille Jean-Claude Gaudin the NA Medal of Honour for the big contribution to strengthening the Armenian-French relations.

Welcoming the guests Hovik Abrahamyan has documented with satisfaction that there are well-known politicians of France in the delegation with whom friendly relations are established. In the NA President’s word, France has a special place on the foreign political agenda of Armenia. According to him, the high level political dialogue, the effective cooperation of the parliaments, cultural, educational, scientific close connections are characteristic to the relations between Armenia and France. The Head of the parliament has highly assessed the fact that France is the first country that has recognized the Armenian Genocide by law. “Mr Gaudin, you have big contribution to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by law in France in 2001. You are also one of the propagators of the bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide. Taking the advantage we express our deep gratitude for your high humanitarian mission,” the NA President said. Hovik Abrahamyan has noted that the centuries-old historical-cultural links between the two peoples and the existence of the big Armenian community in France serve as a serious factor in the development of inner-state relations. Highlighting the further development of the economic relations, the NA President has documented with satisfaction that 155 French companies function in Armenia. Underlining the importance of decentralized cooperation Hovik Abrahamyan has noted that close cooperation is already established between more than 30 local authorities of the RA and France.

Thanking for the reception and for awarding the Medal of Honour of the National Assembly the Mayor of Marseille Jean-Claude Gaudin highly assessed the Armenian-French relations and emphasized the further deepening and enhancement of the inter-parliamentary relations. In his word, the Armenian-French Friendship Groups formed in the parliaments of Armenia and France, have significant contribution to the development of inter-parliamentary relations. Mr Gaudin also highlighted the deepening of economic cooperation, the development of cooperation also in other spheres. The Mayor Marseilles noted he had been an MP of the French Parliament for 36 years and in the 70s, at the beginning of his activities in the parliament, he had raised the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the French Parliament, which had been adopted after decades. He has noted that every year on April 24 in Marseille, in the Memorial Park of the Armenian Genocide victims, people bow before the memory of the innocent victims.

Other issues of bilateral interest were also discussed.