On Friday 24 May 2013, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako and Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, met with His Holiness Aram I in Antelias. They were accompanied by Archbishop Avak Assadourian, Armenian Prelate of Iraq and by the Locum Tenens of the Syriac Orthodox Church.

After the Patriarch described the political situation in Iraq and its impact on Christian communities, they discussed the situation in the Middle East and the challenges faced by the Christian communities. Catholicos Aram I thanked the guests for their visit and outlined the task of Christians in the area: to inspire hope, to act out of love and to work towards reconciliation. Christians, he said, must remain in the region, affirm their rights, fulfill their responsibilities and promote peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims.”