On May 1, 2012, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I began his pastoral visit in the United Arab Emirates.

He will preside on the activities organized by the Armenian community in Sharja and Dubai, and in Abu Dhabi he will lay the corner-stone to the Church and community centre on the land offered by Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan.

His Holiness will continue his pastoral visit to Iran, where he will visit the Dioceses of Tehran, Isphahan and Aderbadakan. In Tehran he will also preside on the interfaith dialogue meeting between the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia and the Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran that began 10 years ago.