On May 2, the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Zareh Sinanyan, met with Professor Dr. Martin Petzold, former member of the German Bundestag and current member of the Berlin House of Representatives.
Martin Petzold is a German-Armenian political figure, born into a family of a German father and Armenian mother.
For many years, Petzold has served as a patron of the “German-Armenian Cultural Days” festival. With his support, space has been allocated in Berlin to organize Armenian language, music, dance, and Armenian studies classes. He also applied to the Standing Committee on Education of the Berlin House of Representatives, proposing the inclusion of Armenian as a second foreign language in Berlin public schools. In 2024, as a result of his mediation with the “Eurowings” airline, flights between Yerevan and Berlin were launched.
One of the key achievements of Martin Petzold’s pro-Armenian efforts was his role in fostering cross-party solidarity within the German Bundestag during the adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution, which ultimately led to the near-unanimous adoption of the text proposed by Cem Özdemir (Alliance 90/The Greens).
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Welcoming the guest, the High Commissioner expressed gratitude for his continued visits to Armenia and highly valued his ongoing efforts to strengthen Armenian-German relations and contribute to Armenia’s development.
In turn, Martin Petzold thanked the High Commissioner for the warm reception, presented the reforms being implemented by his party, and inquired about possible directions to contribute to the deepening of Armenia–Germany bilateral relations.
The two sides discussed prospects for strengthening economic relations, as well as upcoming initiatives aimed at establishing a partnership between the Lichtenberg district of Berlin and the Kentron district of Yerevan.
In the context of developing economic ties, they also discussed the possibility of organizing a business forum in Berlin. An agreement was reached to begin work in that direction.
At the end of the meeting, Zareh Sinanyan emphasized the continued importance of Armenia–Germany relations and reaffirmed his readiness to support this process in every possible way within the scope of his mandate.
Diaspora High Commissioner’s Office
