HIS HOLINESS ARAM I CHAIRS THE G8 PREPARATORY MEETING IN ROME

Upon the invitation of the organizers, His Holiness Aram I chaired the deliberative sessions of the G8 Preparatory Meeting on Wednesday 17th June. In his brief introduction he urged the participants to work together in order to overcome the current economic crisis. He said, “We should treat the problems holistically because political, economic, social issues and religion are interrelated”.

He then invited the participants to share the priority concerns of their regions. The Japanese representative spoke of the proliferation of nuclear weapons; the Africans asked industrialized countries to assist them to eradicate poverty and to help them halt the HIV/Aids pandemic; the main issue for the representatives of Europe and North America was the influx of refugees from other regions into their countries; the participants also discussed global warming and the question of security. In its final declaration, the participants identified the credit crunch with its repercussions and security as the two issues affecting the daily lives of many peoples.

The meeting was concluded with a press conference, which was led by Catholicos Aram I and included two other representatives.

For the final declaration of the Meeting click the following link:

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