YEREVAN. – The Step toward Home program is based on the former Come Home program; it was a good project, and we continue it. Zareh Sinanyan, the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia, said this in a conversation with reporters in the National Assembly today.

He assured that there are many repatriates in Armenia, but in terms of their number, he advised to apply to the Migration Service. “Of course there are; I know people, families, I know they have repatriated. For one, my family and I have returned [from the US]. I had a post there; my post had a $900mn budget, whereas here I am fighting for a $1-5mn budget,” he said.

Asked why he says his job is ungrateful, Sinanyan explained: "It is ungrateful in the sense that people were saying, 'How are we going to measure that you have worked effectively? How do we know the result next year?' It is difficult to present the results, unlike other agencies. We do work that is very long-term, we create conditions for closer relationships, long-term repatriation, and in that sense it's hard to measure for a year.”