LOS ANGELES–Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Bako Sahakian met with the Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa Tuesday at the Mayor’s Getty House residence for talks on bilateral relations between Karabakh and the city of Los Angeles, Sahakian’s press office reported.
Both Villaraigosa and Sahakian said they were ready to cooperate on a wide-range of issues, underscoring the political and moral value of forging strong ties.
Later in the evening, a special dinner was held in Sahakian’s honor at the Glendale home of Armenian philanthropist Hakob Baghdasarian.
Speaking at the dinner, Sahakian praised the Armenian American community for nearly two-decades of strong support of the independence and development Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
Some notable individuals attending the dinner were: the Prelate of the Diocese of Artsakh Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, the Consul General of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles Grigor Hovhannisyan, the Executive Director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Ara Vardanyan, the Karabakh President’s Press Secretary, Davit Babayan, Karabakh’s Permanent Representative to the United States, Robert Avetisyan, and the Chairman of Artsakh Public TV and Radio’s Board Norek Gasparyan.
Also attending were members of the Armenian community, including Avedik Izmirlian Sinan Sinanian, Michael Mahadesian, Adrine Nazarian, Raffi Ourfalian, and Arthur Artinian, Charlie Ghalian.