Yesterday RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan paid an official visit to Great Britain and North Ireland Royalty. He is accompanied by the Mayor of Yerevan Karen Karapetyan and Vicar of Ararat Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan. According to the official statement In the frame of his visit, the Prime Minister of Armenia attended a reception and a concert dedicated to two charity projects initiated by Prince Charles and ex-Armenian Prime Minister Armen Sargsyan referred to as “Yerevan – My Love” (four buildings of highest architectural and historical value will be restored and renovated under the project) and the Damphis Castle preservation project southwest of Scotland. The Head of Government also met with Armenian businessmen due to arrive in London from different parts of the world. Tigran Sargsyan will call at the BBC headquarters to give an interview to the British news agency. In the framework of the program, the construction of three buildings in the territory of Surb Hovhannes Church of Yerevan has already started. One of the buildings is a center for mother and child care, the next one is a clinic for deaf children, and the third one is a kindergarten for socially vulnerable families’ children. Armen Sargsyan said he will visit Yerevan late June and will discuss with the mayor of Yerevan the list of the buildings to be constructed within the framework of the program. It is really hard to say what the point of such a visit was besides the fact that Tigran Sargsyan had the honor to shake the Prince’s hand (perhaps the Queen’s as well). We mean the point in terms of the interest and benefit of the reputation of the state and the society. It is clear that by such visits Tigran Sargsyan (as he confessed) is also building his image. However, it is hard to imagine that the presence of Ktchoyan can give any positive background to anybody’s image. But at whose expense is all this done? The thing is that Tigran Sargsyan has used certain tricks and funds to give the effect of luxury to this trip. He flew to London by the airplane of the President, the flight and harboring costs of which cost about 60,000 USD. Indeed it may sound a little populist but wouldn’t it be better that the Prime Minister of a state with miserable economy could fly to London by business class and spend at least several dozen times less money on the trip? If that money was saved besides the state budget Ktchoyan’s Bentley would also be upgraded.
