Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended a Diplomat’s Day-dated reception at the National Gallery of Armenia.

Congratulating diplomats on their professional holiday, Nikol Pashinyan stated, in part:
“Honorable National Assembly Speaker,
Dear government members,
Dear Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Dear diplomats,
State officials,
Dear Armenia-accredited diplomatic corps representatives,

I congratulate you on Diplomat’s Day. This is an important day for our state. Let me note that today our diplomats have come together under different conditions and in a completely different situation. Today, fortunately, our diplomats all over the world do not need to spend long days and time explaining in different countries how many percent of the polls have been falsified, how many percent of the votes have been rigged, and so on. This is an important change, which reflects the essence of the non-violent velvet popular revolution in Armenia.

I do hope is that this change will not be perceived as an opportunity to make less effort, but instead to show more enthusiasm and greater energy, because today Armenia has something to demonstrate to the world, and today the wish to listen to the Republic of Armenia is much greater on all sides.

And it is very important to state that the most important change now taking place in Armenia is that both the government and the diplomats are no longer attending a specific individual, but we are all serving our people. In this sense, we are in a different situation in the Republic of Armenia because the power is formed through the free will of the people.

Since my very first day as Prime Minister, I have been guided by the presumption that the diplomatic system is one of the best-organized systems in our country, and we must do everything to ensure the system’s normal functioning. Therefore, I expect that the Armenian diplomats, the diplomatic system as a whole, will properly represent the changes that have taken place in our country, and I am convinced that the proper system will serve the Republic of Armenia and its people.

All those diplomats who have missed the opportunity to participate in the political revolution today have a good opportunity to participate in the economic revolution.

In this regard, I consider it important to take more active steps with regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, since my previous meetings and international contacts have led to the conclusion that unfortunately, the essence and the true understanding of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue has fainted in the international arena. This is the most important issue on our agenda, and it is necessary to work consistently in order to raise awareness of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in the international arena.

We should continue the policy of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. We are clearly stating that the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide is our contribution to global security and genocide prevention, and we see that issue from this perspective.
Expressing gratitude to our diplomats for their dedicated service, I want to extend a special vote of thanks to those Armenian diplomats working in unstable and unsafe regions. In particular, the uninterrupted work of our Consulate General in Aleppo deserves our deepest respect despite the fact that the building has been subjected to rocket attacks. The same should be said about the activities of our embassy in Baghdad, despite the dangerous situation in that country.

It goes without saying that the successful exercise of our foreign policy objectives depends on the cohesive and well-coordinated efforts of our Foreign Ministry staff, including our embassies and consulates overseas.

Therefore, dear diplomats, reiterating my congratulations, I wish you ever new creative approaches because the modern era comes as an opportunity to reach new heights. I wish you ever new achievements for the sake of and to the benefit of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Artsakh and the Armenian nation.

Mr. Mnatsakanyan, I wish you every success in the exercise of your difficult and complicated mission. I also want to express my appreciation to all the former Foreign Ministers of the Third Republic for their efforts aimed at building Armenia’s diplomatic system. Happy Diplomat’s Day”