"Armenia's newly-appointed Diaspora Minister, Hranoush Hakopyan, Wednesday explained that the newly-created ministry aims to consolidate all forces of the Diaspora and homeland to enhance the development of the entire Armenian nation.

At a meeting with Armenian press representatives, Hakopyan outlined the four main objectives of the ministry, among them development of programs to strengthen Armenia-Diaspora relations, establishing a new 21st century national identity, which aims at harnessing the strength of the 10-million strong Armenian nation and encouraging the participation of all realms of the Diaspora for the development of the nation.

Since its inception first as a department working within the foreign ministry and later as a full-fledged ministry, Hakopyan has signed several agreements, including one with the National Academy of Sciences to establish an Armenian Diaspora Studies chair in Armenia's universities and one with the United Nations Development Program to accommodate for jobs for Diaspora Armenians who are willing to work within the ministry."

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