Emirati foreign minister visits Armenian Genocide memorial

PanARMENIAN.Net - Foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday, July 18 visited the Armenian Genocide memorial complex as part of his official visit to Armenia, UAE News Agency (WAM) reports.

He was accompanied by Armen Papikyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, and Dr. Jassim Mohammed Mubarak Al Qasimi, UAE Ambassador to Armenia.

At the start of his visit, Sheikh Abdullah placed a wreath on the memorial commemorating the 1.5 million Armenians killed during the Genocide in 1915. The UAE Minister also observed a minute's silence for the martyrs, and placed flowers under a 1.5 metre deep "eternal flame", which burns throughout the year in memory of those who died.

Sheikh Abdullah expressed his appreciation at the privilege of visiting he monument, stressing the UAE's keenness to promote the values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence among people and spread those messages throughout the world.

The memorial, which was built in 1967, is located on the hill of Tsitsernakaberd overlooking Yerevan and receives hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Many thousands gather there on April 24th each year to mark Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

1.5 million were killed in the genocide between 1915 and 1923. Some three dozen countries, as well as numerous regional government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killns as Genocide.