Catholicos of All Armenians Receives Newly Appointed French Ambassador
07.02.2018
On February 7, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; received Mr. Jonathan Lacôte, newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia.
Congratulating Mr. Jonathan Lacôte, His Holiness refelected on the friendly Armenian-French relations and cooperation, attaching importance to the Ambassador's mission in strengthening them.
Catholicos Karekin II spoke with satisfaction about the Armenian community in France, as well as expressed gratitude for the clear position of the nation’s authorities in the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, stressing that only such an approach can contribute to the prevention of crimes against humanity.
His Holiness conveyed to the Ambassador the readiness of Mother See to continue the cooperation with the Embassy and jointly implement various educational and cultural activities.
The Ambassador expressed gratitude to His Holiness for the meeting and noted that the friendship between the Armenian and French people is very deep and France will continue supporting Armenia. Speaking on the Armenian community in France, Ambassador Lacôte noted that they are an inseparable part of French society and have made important contributions to the life of France.
During the meeting they discussed the steps being undertaken to overcome challenges facing the country; France's important role in the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh); as well as the La Francophonie Summit to be held in Armenian in 2018.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Armenian Pontiff wished the ambassador an effective mission to strengthen the Armenian-French ties.
Attending the meeting were His Eminence Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of External Relations and Protocol Department of Mother See and Rev. Fr. Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Ecumenical Relations Department.
