U.S. Congressional Delegation to Visit Armenia and Artsakh

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. House of Representative members, Jackie Speier (CA-14), Judy Chu (CA-27) and Frank Pallone (NJ-06), are scheduled to pay a one-week visit to Armenia and Artsakh on October 1st to discuss relations between the two nations, reported the Voice of America’s Armenian service report.

“I am sure we will be proud to witness the new reality of Armenia,” said Congresswoman Speier at a recent gala hosted by the Armenian Assembly of America. “Democracy has become tangible in Armenia when it declines worldwide. Armenia is a bright spot in this gray picture, and it’s the duty of us all to keep that light on.”

According to Congresswoman Speier, as the most powerful democratic country in the world, the United States should support Armenia in establishing democracy. The Congresswoman, who is of Armenian descent, hailed the 2018 Velvet Revolution as an unprecedented event, not only for Armenia, but for the whole world.

Speier believes Armenia is facing three major challenges now – developing the economy, strengthening its position in the region and opening up opportunities for its own citizens.

She added, implementing democratic reforms and cracking down on corruption are challenges which the government enjoying high public support can overcome easier.

Congresswoman Judy Chu is looking forward to her visit to Artsakh. “I particularly want to visit Artsakh in order to get acquainted with the situation, to see what is happening there and to be able to provide even more serious support to the establishment of peace in Artsakh in the future.”

Congressman Frank Pallone, founder and co-chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, thinks their visit is particularly important as it is the first visit by American lawmakers to Armenia since the Velvet Revolution.

“One of the reasons for our visit is that our group wants to support the new government and parliament of Armenia,” said the Congressman.

According to Pallone, although the U.S. State Department advised U.S. lawmakers to avoid visiting Artsakh, the delegation decided to make the trip anyway. As for his visit to Armenia, the Congressman plans to discuss the expansion of cooperation in the political and trade-economic spheres with their Armenian counterparts.

“We are very excited about the Velvet Revolution,” said Congressman Pallone. “Armenia is on the way to becoming a more democratic country. We are inspired by the political will of the new government to fight corruption, implement judicial reforms and establish the rule of law in the country.”