On august 29, ANAU Rector Vardan Urutyan received a delegation of Lebanese businessmen led by the Lebanon’s former Minister of Culture and an owner of a family winery, Mr. Salim Wardy. Founder of Gardenia Lebanese Farms, Mr. Nicolas Abou Fayssal, CEO of Somo Plast company, Mr. Wassim Riachy, and the owner and the CEO of Junet juice producing company, Mr. Jean Stefan were in the group. The Lebanese businessmen were accompanied by a very good friend of Rector Urutyan and the Agrarian University, a Canadian Armenian businessman, Mr. Harut Sipan.
Mr. Nicolas Abou Fayssal was the initiator of this visit. He consistently encourages and inspires the owners and managers of the above companies operating in Zahle, Lebanon to make investments in the Armenian agribusiness sector, following his own example. After Rector Urutyan’s recent visit to the orchards of Gardenia Lebanese Farms in Bagratashen and Yeghvard, Mr. Fayssal is giving a start to a more comprehensive partnership by visiting ANAU with some of his friends from the business sector. His goal is to objectively show his friends the recent developments in our university and the possibilities of cooperation.
Potential directions of cooperation were addressed during the visit, the key one being the opportunities of making investments in the wine sector of Armenia. Dr. Urutyan draw the attention of the businessmen from the friendly country, in particular, to the perspectives and advantages of cooperation with ANAU and the EVN Wine Academy.
The Lebanese businessmen visited the wine chemistry lab of the EVN Wine Academy and the Brewing and Distillation Laboratory. Mr. Wardy liked the Armenian wines very much, especially those produced with endemic varieties of grape. His winery produces high quality award-winning wines with endemic Lebanese varieties.
Towards the end of the visit, Rector Urutyan and the esteemed Lebanese guests exchanged presents.