He and the mayor spoke of differences and similarities between the cities, as well as ways of conducting city business, Manoukian said.
"The visit has been quite interesting," Zakharyan said through a translator. "It's important for us to come [to Glendale] because of the size of the Armenian diaspora here. We are looking for future connections between Glendale and Yerevan."
After a luncheon with city officials, including the entire Glendale City Council, Zakharyan and his staff were taken on a tour of city facilities, including Glendale Community College and the Glendale Police Station.
"I think it's tremendous to be able to share our experiences between countries," Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams said. "From a criminal justice standpoint it makes us better able to establish a network across the globe and let criminals know if they flee to Armenia from here, or flee [to the U.S.] from Armenia, we're going to find them and bring them to justice."
A recent example of this was a 2005 incident involving Armenian-born Glendale resident Artur Khanzadyan, who was accused of murdering his girlfriend Odet Tsaturyan then fleeing to Armenia, where he was later convicted of the crime and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Yerevan mayor was given a behind-the-scenes look at the Glendale Police Station, including the jail, before departing from the station in a helicopter for a ride over the city.
"It's been a chance for [local and foreign officials] to meet and greet and introduce themselves," said city Senior Administrative Analyst Zizette Ayad, who is in charge of the sister city program in Glendale.
