YEREVAN. – The 67th anniversary of Israel’s independence was marked in Yerevan on Tuesday.

The ceremony was attended by Vice Speaker of the Armenian parliament Hermine Naghdalyan, heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of the Jewish community in Armenia.

In his opening speech, Israel’s Ambassador to Armenia Shmuel Meirom noted that in its history Israel managed to overcome many difficulties in order to build a democratic state that is developing rapidly.

Speaking about Israeli-Armenian relations, Ambassador noted importance of development of economic ties. As to political relations, Mr. Meirom pointed out the visit of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian to Israel as well as the trip of Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan. In turn, the Knesset members came to Yerevan for “commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian tragedy”, the Ambassador said.

For his part, head of Armenian parliament's standing committee on foreign affairs Artak Zakaryan noted that the Armenian and Jewish nations are re-born from the pain with the responsibility to lead the struggle for prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity.

During the evening, guests enjoyed the performance of Israeli soprano Sivan Rotem.