On March 2, a solemn event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Armenia's accession to the UN, as well as the Diplomat’s Day in Armenia was held, attended by the high level representatives of the legislative, executive and judiciary bodies of Armenia, social-political figures, foreign ambassadors and representatives of international organisations accredited to Armenia .

During the event, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan,  Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, First Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the UN Alexander Arzumanyan delivered remarks. UN Resident Coordinator ad interim in Armenia Lila Pieters Yahia presented the message of UN Secretary General António Guterres.

During the event, a solemn ceremony of awarding certificates to the newly appointed diplomats and announcement on the awarding of the highest diplomatic ranks was held.

In his remarks, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, particularly, noted:

"Honourable, acting President of the Republic,

Honourable Mr. Prime Minister,

Dear colleagues of the executive, legislative and judicial bodies,

Dear diplomats,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Exactly 30 years ago, the tricolour of the newly independent Republic of Armenia was waved at the United Nations headquarters in New York.  This few minutes lasting event was the logical milestone of the nationwide movement launched in 1988, which carried the national dream of our people to live in a free, independent, sovereign and democratic Armenia.  It was the milestone of the national aspirations and pursuits of restoring the independent Armenian statehood that began decades and hundreds of years ago.

It is not by chance that March 2, the day of the Republic of Armenia's accession to the family of independent nations- the UN, was later declared as a day of diplomacy and diplomatic service in Armenia. And today, I think, it is worth remembering the path that the Armenian diplomacy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have passed during the last thirty years.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established during the most difficult days for our people - in the times of the first Artsakh war.  In fact, representatives of the independent movement, diplomats who had already served in the former Soviet Union, professionals from the Diaspora, who had the mission of founding our Ministry and at the same time promoting the state interests of the Republic of Armenia in the outside world, gathered under one umbrella.

During the past 30 years, our diplomacy, as well as our state have gone through many ups and downs, has been able to register both vital successes and failures in its key mission of serving the state interests of the Republic of Armenia. Indeed, we should be proud of our successes and speak directly about the failures without hesitation, to analyse and undertake essential corrections.

In my personal assessment, the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan, along with the aggressive Armenophobic policy of the enemy, with many other important external factors, resulted from the long-term inaccurate analysis and assessments of the whole Armenian political thought. It is vital to enshrine this, as the issues and challenges related to this are very substantial at the moment, thus the adoption of prudent and sober approaches is imperative today.

After the 44-day war, in the current situation, when the world is rapidly changing, and Armenia encounters serious security challenges, I think we, dear diplomats and partners, must firstly broaden our minds, then work hard and with extreme discipline, to restore the security environment of Armenia and Artsakh, to build lasting peace in the region, to deepen relations with allies, to resolve our issues with others with dignity, to protect the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh within the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, on the basis of principles and elements well-known to the sides, to strengthen our sovereignty, in general, to serve the vital interests of our homeland and truly serve it. As it is rightly mentioned in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - it is, in fact, a force structure. And by this logic I must mention that we all need to work in a barracks  mode to carry out our mission unwaveringly.

Dear guests, 

During these years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been developed as a structure with its unique traditions, which, of course, we should preserve together. At the same time, I consider it necessary to continue the further improvement and development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in accordance with the great pace of the 21st century, in line with the required qualities.  We must be able to combine the huge experience of the older generation with the young talent and modern education, to carry out a fair and stable generation change. In this context, I emphasize the work carried out by the Diplomatic School, which must undoubtedly continue.

Dear attendees,

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate and thank our partners behind the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our colleagues who have served and who continue to serve in our 45 embassies from Buenos Aires to Beijing, support our citizens and compatriots at our Consulates Generals from Sankt-Petersburg to Erbil and Aleppo, our colleagues who fight for every letter and comma in our permanent representations to international organisations. In particular, I would like to mention the colleagues who are currently working in emergency mode in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Moldova to support the safe return of our citizens from the war zone. I can not forget, of course, the colleagues who support the diplomatic service at the Foreign Ministry.

I would also like to thank the colleagues from the executive and legislative bodies, the Church, the representatives of community structures in the Diaspora, with whom our Ministry has been actively working for the past 30 years.

I am confident that each of us realises our responsible mission to unwaveringly and consistently preserve, strengthen Armenia's independence, statehood, sovereignty, and to promote our state interests.

 Thank you.”