What issues and projects are important?

‘We really want to improve economic relations with Armenia. There are lots of opportunities here for Dutch entrepreneurs in IT, agriculture, water, design and tourism. We’re trying to get investors and entrepreneurs in the Netherlands interested enough to come and take a look here. Willy van de Kerkhof, former footballer, businessman and honorary consul of Armenia in the southern Netherlands, visited recently.

‘We’re also working with Armenia on the development of democracy and the rule of law. We had a project in which we helped publicise the new Supreme Court to the Armenian public. This institution is a mainstay and hub of the Armenian legal system. The development of institutions like this is vital for the stability of the rule of law. The Dutch have an excellent reputation here because of The Hague, city of peace and justice.’

What is the human rights situation like in Armenia?

‘Generally speaking it’s good, though there are a few issues that need to be addressed, like LGBTI rights. Armenian society is pretty traditional. People here are not familiar with homosexuality, let alone transgender issues, and they don’t want anything to do with it. And despite the fact that women tend to be better educated here, there is a lot of gender inequality. Violence against women is quite common, but it’s not discussed. It’s regarded entirely as a “family matter”, so that’s a problem.

‘Press freedom is another concern. The oligarchs of the former regime still control 80% of the media. It’s difficult for the public to access reliable information.’

What do you hope to achieve with your new embassy over the next few years?

‘Besides building a network, we have to make our embassy and our work here more widely known. There are relatively few West European countries that have an embassy here; only France, Germany and Sweden. So I notice people are very interested in what the Dutch embassy is doing. After my first week here, my personal social media channels suddenly “exploded”, and I gained hundreds of followers.

‘On a personal level, I hope to see my family more often. My wife and youngest child are in the Netherlands, and we have three older children in higher education. We decided I would come out here alone first, partly because of the pandemic. I go to the Netherlands, or they come here, as often as possible, but it’s not ideal. Next year my son could go to the international school here, about 90 minutes from Yerevan, but it’s boarding during the week. He’s been to so many schools because of our BZ life that we’re now leaving the decision up to him.’