At the invitation of the Boghossian Foundation, Minister Vartan Oskanian traveled to Brussels to participate in the launch of the Boghossian Foundation’s plans for a cultural center bridging east and west, to be located in Brussels.

On September 13, Minister Oskanian joined the President of the Belgian Senate as well as dozens of ambassadors and Belgian officials who had come to celebrate the renovation of the Villa Empain, a Belgian architectural masterpiece, that will serve as a center of dialogue and cultural exchange.

Following remarks by Jean Boghossian of Belgium, who together with his brother Albert of Switzerland, have founded the Foundation, the Minister was welcomed by Armand de Decker, President of the Belgian Senate, who spoke extensively about Armenia’s contributions to the patrimony of world culture, as well as the place that the Villa Empain holds in the city’s architectural and social history.

Minister Oskanian concluded the formal program with comments about the importance of the Boghossian initiative, especially in light of the Armenian tradition of dialogue and bridge among civilizations and cultures. The entire text of the Minister’s remarks appears below.

On September 14, at  invitation of the Heinrich Boll Foundation of Brussels, Minister Oskanian met with representatives of leading think tanks and policy institutes in Brussels, to speak about Armenia’s foreign policy challenges, regional issues, Armenia’s bilateral relations generally, and especially with its neighbors and with the EU.

Those present asked about the specific situation between Armenia and its four neighbors, the current situation of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Armenia’s European integration processes.