On March 29, photo exhibition “RESTART: Syrian Armenians Planting their Entrepreneurial Spirit in Armenia” and presentation of the book of the same name was held with high-level political participation at Yerevan History Museum.

The event was organized by the project “Economic Integration of Syrian Refugees in Armenia” (EISRA) attached to the programme “Private Sector Development South Caucasus (PSD SC)”, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of Federal Ministry for Economic Development (BMZ).

Welcoming the participants of the event, Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia, Mr. Matthias Kiesler, noted: “With more than 20.000 Syrians, Armenia received more refugees per capita than many European countries. The Armenian government and the Armenian society should be applauded for this great sign of hospitality. It is very encouraging to see how the Syrian Armenians took their fate into their own hands by starting their own businesses. Armenia could very much learn of this optimistic spirit, of this entrepreneurial drive and of this customer oriented attitude. I am happy that the GIZ project is contributing to the economic integration of these immigrants from Syria.”

“Ministry of Economic Development and Investments attaches special importance to economic integration of Syrian refugees in our country. In this regard, the Ministry takes consistent efforts and leverages all the instruments of state support to help the target group realise their business plans. Our partners – international organisations – support us to fulfill this mission. I would like to especially mention GIZ with its “Economic Integration of Syrian Refugees in Armenia” project which is aimed at addressing a critical and urgent issue. I would like to take this chance to once again thank GIZ for effective collaboration”, said Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Investments of Armenia Tigran Khachatryan, addressing a welcome speech.

Chief of Staff of Ministry of Diaspora of RA Firdus Zakaryan noted that Syrian Armenians could serve as a “role model” to other Diaspora Armenians by their motivation and efforts to integrate in Armenia and rebuild their livelihoods.

Nerses Kevo, President of Syrian Armenians Union NGO, thanked GIZ PSD SC EISRA project for this very important initiative, adding: “The book “RESTART” is a tangible proof that the Syrian Armenians who fled Syria during the civil war managed to start and re-start businesses in Armenia despite the difficult economic situation in the host country. In this regard, the book will inspire other Armenians from Diaspora to come and make investments in their ancestral homeland”.

Presenting the book “RESTART: Syrian Armenians Planting their Entrepreneurial Spirit in Armenia”, team leader of GIZ PSD SC EISRA project Hans Joachim Zinnkann thanked Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan, Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany Matthias Kiesler and Nerses Kevo for generously providing forewords to the book, thus emphasising the importance of Syrian Armenians’ integration in the country’s economy.

Talking about the concept of the photo exhibition, Mr. Zinnkann noted: “This exhibition features photo stories of around 30 Syrian Armenian entrepreneurs of different business sectors and walks of life, age groups, gender and backgrounds, who shared their success stories in the photo booklet of the same name. What unites them is an aspiration to serve their expertise, motivation and skills to enrich the Armenian economy, thus inspiring others to follow suit”.

Additional information

About GIZ PSD SC EISRA project: The project “Economic Integration of Syrian Refugees in Armenia” (EISRA) is attached to the programme “Private Sector Development South Caucasus (PSD SC)” and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project is aimed at improving preconditions for income generation for Syrian refugees in Armenia through coordination of dialogue among partners and facilitation of the target group’s access to existing business networks, employment and business support measures as well as promotion of their products and services during sector-specific local and international exhibitions.