YEREVAN, MARCH 18, NOYAN TAPAN. A reception of the Armenian parliament deputies and employees, who had participated in familiarization trips under Wo/Men in Politics project, was given at the residence of Charles Lonsdale, the British Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia. The indicated project was financed by the British embassy. Welcoming the guests, the ambassador stated that the purpose of their meeting was to summarize the results of the trips and discuss the prospects of further cooperation. It was mentioned that today all countries are facing economic difficulties, and in countries like Armenia and Great Britain which lack natural resources, creative and intelligent people are in demand. So it is important that women also take an active part in social and political life, prior to which the existing gender inequality should be eliminated, while female deputies of the RA National Assembly may set as a good example in this issue. The Vice Speaker of the National Assembly Ms. Arevik Petrosian who headed the delegations during trips expressed her gratitude for cooperation under the mutual understanding memorandum on gender issues which was signed between the RA National Assembly and the Yerevan Office of the British Council on November 2009. She said that despite the short period, the cooperation results inspire much satisfaction and confidence in future measures and actions aimed at achieving the goals of cooperation. In her words, the National Assembly keeps gender issues at the center of its attention, and as envisaged by the memorandum, the NA will establish an advisory body to deal with parliamentary and extraparliamentary initiatives. "Our trips showed once again that in different periods of development, gender problems have been at the center of attention in all countries, these problems followed and continue to follow a long path in Armenia and other countries," A. Petrosian said. According to her, they were greatly impressed by the meetings they had during the familiarization trips to Great Britain, Finland, and Poland. The purpose of the trips was to discuss the ways of enhancing women's role in social and political life and exchange experience in gender issues. "The meetings passed in a sincere atmosphere, and we attached importance to the fact that it is impossible to solve such problems by adhering to certain principles and standards. The political will and desire to find solutions and evaluate the results should form a basis," A. Petrosian noted. According to her, the trips were also important in terms of strengthening interparliamentary links.

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