Honourable Ambassador,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am happy to greet you at this solemn event dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Canada and on this occasion to send our warmest congratulations and best wishes to the friendly people of Canada.

In 1867, the founding fathers of Canada envisaged a society based on the ideas of equality, justice, tolerance and coexistence.

In the modern world full of national and religious antagonisms, Canada is a vivid example of a multicultural and multi-religious society, proving that the differences between peoples should not be a source of hostility but a create a basis for a prosperous country.

We, Armenians, know from our own experience that the noble principles laid in the foundation of the Canadian way of conduct are not just words. Canada was one of the first countries to provide relief to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide by adopting 109 Armenian orphans and giving them a chance to begin a new life. This initiative, known as "Canada’s Noble Experiment," was one of the first humanitarian projects for which Canada is known today throughout the world.

By recognizing the Armenian Genocide, both on the legislative and executive levels, Canada once again reaffirmed its commitment to universal human values. We highly appreciate the yearly messages by the Canadian Prime Ministers on the April 24 commemorating the anniversary of the Genocide.

Canada makes significant contributions to international security and stability by participating in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions around the world. The concept of modern peace-keeping was proposed by Canada's former prime minister, a brilliant diplomat and a Nobel Peace Prize winner Lester Pearson.

Armenia also strives to contribute to international peacekeeping operations and humanitarian missions and preventing crimes against humanity. This creates a good basis for Armenian-Canadian interaction in international formats.

I would like to particularly mention the successful cooperation between Armenia and Canada within the framework of the International Organization of La Francophonie. We highly appreciate the strong Canadian support during the last year's Francophone Summit in Madagascar for the proposal to hold the Francophonie Summit in 2018 in Yerevan.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This January we have celebrated the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Canada. We are proud that during the last quarter-of-a-century we have established warm friendship and close cooperation with Canada on the basis of mutual respect and trust. There have been high-level reciprocal visits, numerous intergovernmental agreements have been signed, various programs have been implemented, and people’s diplomacy has been developing year after year.

I should note with satisfaction the outstanding contribution of the Armenian community of Canada to the development of Armenian-Canadian relations.

I am confident that the Armenian-Canadian relations will continue to develop in the spirit of friendship and cooperation by registering new impressive achievement.

Dear Friends,

I want to congratulate Canada once again on the 150th anniversary of Canada and I extend my best wishes to our Canadian colleagues.