Armenians have been opening businesses in Pasadena since about 1900 (possibly earlier.) On Wednesday afternoon, a Pasadena lawmaker convened the California State Assembly’s first committee devoted to the state’s ties with Armenia.
The Select Committee on California and Armenia Mutual Trade, Art, and Cultural Exchange held its inaugural hearing at 1:30 p.m. in Room 444 of the State Capitol, chaired by Assemblymember John Harabedian, a Democrat whose 41st District takes in Pasadena and the unincorporated community of Altadena.
Anna Avetisyan, Consul General of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles, delivered remarks underscoring the importance of strengthening the partnership between California and Armenia and highlighting the opportunities the committee can help create, Harabedian’s office said in a press release issued the same day.
The agenda announced for the session set two panels, one on California–Armenia international relations and trade and a second on economic and business insights.
California is home to the largest Armenian American community in the United States, according to the release. The committee will bring together business leaders, educators, artists, community organizations and policymakers to identify ways the two can work more closely together.
“Long before this committee existed, California and Armenia were connected by the people who call both places home,” Harabedian said in the release. “Hundreds of thousands of Armenian Americans call California home. They’ve built businesses, created jobs, strengthened our communities, and helped shape this state. This committee was created to build on that foundation and create new opportunities for the next generation.”
The committee has ten members and is bipartisan. Alongside Harabedian, it includes Republican Juan Alanis of the 22nd District and Democrats Isaac G. Bryan, Jessica M. Caloza, Mark González, Diane Papan, Pilar Schiavo, Nick Schultz, José Luis Solache Jr. and Rick Chavez Zbur. Harabedian’s office described it as the Assembly’s first select committee on the subject; the state Senate has maintained a comparable body, the Select Committee on California, Armenia and Artsakh Mutual Trade, Art and Cultural Exchange, across multiple sessions.
The committee will examine expanding trade and business partnerships between California and Armenia, encouraging investment and innovation, strengthening educational and academic exchanges, promoting Armenian art, culture and tourism, and elevating the contributions of California’s Armenian American community, according to the release. Harabedian said the state is uniquely positioned to lead, citing its standing as the world’s fourth-largest economy — a ranking the Governor’s office announced in April 2025 and that later data has put it at fourth or fifth.
The commerce at issue is modest. California exported $22 million in goods to Armenia in 2025 and imported $20 million, and was the top U.S. state exporter to Armenia, according to the California Chamber of Commerce.
Harabedian is the only Armenian American currently serving in the California Legislature, according to his office, and chairs the California Armenian Legislative Caucus Foundation. In his district, the community the committee names is old. Pashgian Brothers rugs and draperies opened in 1903 or 1904, and by 1923 an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 Armenians were living in Pasadena, most near Allen Avenue and Washington Boulevard, according to the Armenian Institute.
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