President Serzh Sargsyan made a statement at the ambassadorial meeting

Today, on the occasion of Diplomat’s Day, President Serzh Sargsyan visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and met with staff of the Ministry, Heads of the RA representations and consular offices abroad.

The President of Armenia congratulated once again participants of the meeting on the occasion of their professional holiday. Then, in his address he spoke in detail about the road Armenia has travelled since her independence, achievements in the area of foreign policy, difficulties that have been overcome, priorities and challenges of the foreign policy. The President of Armenia tasked the diplomats on a number of issues aimed at Armenia’s proper representation in the host countries and international organizations, spoke about the issues which our diplomats face today, and gave corresponding instructions.

“Many probably think that diplomats are living the life of privileges. As privileged as the diplomatic service is, it is also full of responsibilities while the privileges were defined not for a posh life but for the effective protection of the interests of the country.
Your mission is to present Armenia decently to the world as a peaceful, democratic country, open for a dialogue, a country, which is building a contemporary and viable economic system,” said the President of Armenia.

He also spoke about the nuances of the diplomatic service and noted that the service is often conducted behind the closed doors, however the most secrete negotiations often have public manifestations, results, and consequences. “Preserving secretiveness stemming from this work, Armenia’s diplomatic activities should at the same time be comprehensible for our public. The logic behind the taken steps should be consistently presented to our people without shunning from the voiced criticism. Your words, your message should be clear-cut, should be comprehensible, and should inspire confidence,” said Serzh Sargsyan.

In his address, President Sargsyan spoke also about the NK conflict, issues faced by the RA diplomatic service abroad and in different international settings, about Azerbaijan’s destructive policy, about countering the steps aimed at escalating tension in the region.

“Yerevan and Stepanakert want no war, while Baku has been speaking nonstop at the highest level about war, advertising it and making heroes of the soldiers whose “heroic deeds” long ago were declared war crimes. Should Azerbaijan carry on in the same spirit, it will receive a corresponding response, just as it received days ago at the line of contact during yet another attempt of diversionary infiltration and suffered serious losses. If needed, we will not hesitate even for a second to use every means available in our arsenal to ensure the security of the people of Artsakh. Today, the Armenian troops, which stand firmly on their land and know exactly what they are fighting for, is the main containment factor against a large-scale war in the region.”
Noting that in twenty-five years Armenia has been able to form a pretty substantial and positive agenda, President Sargsyan noted that our country invests its experience and efforts in making audible the issues of all-human significance and makes her contribution to their resolution by the international community.

“As a nation which survived the Genocide, we must always be the frontrunners in the international struggle for the prevention of the crimes against humanity. Thanks to your consistent steps, the UN Human Rights Council in 2015 adopted unanimously the resolution introduced by Armenia on the prevention of genocides, while at the 69th session of the General Assembly, December 9 was declared the Day of Remembrance of Victims of All Genocides. Huge efforts were made in this area, especially in the framework of the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide."

Highlighting among the most impressive achievements of the Armenian diplomacy the decision to conduct in 2018 the Summit of the International Organization of Francophonie in Armenia, the President assessed it as a results of our proactive diplomacy as well as a manifestation of trust and solidarity with our country on behalf of over 80 member states.

“I am confident that through the coordination activities of the state commission and your efforts, we will do our best to host that event at the highest possible level, ensuring its great resonance. This Summit will be one of the most representative events hosted in Armenia since our independence. It will also promote the reputation of our country and will make our culture more recognizable. It will provide excellent opportunities to establish close partnership with different countries in which we are not represented,” said President Sargsyan.

Noting that last year steps were taken to put one of the main directions of the Armenian diplomacy - economic diplomacy - on the institutional base, Serzh Sargsyan urged the Armenian diplomats to undertake active efforts abroad aimed at making Armenia more attractive for investments, presenting our competitive advantages, provide the corresponding circles with the information on probable business projects in Armenia, at opening new markets for products and service made in Armenia.

The President stressed also the importance of duly presenting abroad Armenia’s opportunities in the area of tourism, anticipating active work on this direction.

“In the recent period, we have liberalized or facilitated our visa regime with a number of countries. This should have its positive impact on the development of this area. We expect concrete and tangible results from the ambassadors. I would also like to add that we have designated a special staff member, defined the responsibilities of the Deputy Foreign Minister in this area and now expect that the ambassadors will be given certain criteria of the economic activities and then, at least once a year, we will recap, will see what has been done in practice and what are the results,” said the President of Armenia.

In conclusion, President Sargsyan underscored once again that in the end of the day, all participants of the meeting should constantly hold in the center of their attention the citizen of Armenia. “In the passport issued to the citizen of Armenia it is stated that the holder is under the protection of the Republic of Armenia and the citizens of Armenia abroad should feel that their country is behind these words with all its services and capabilities. And one of your priorities is also the protection abroad of the Armenian identity and cultural heritage, support for the initiatives aimed at the strengthening of the Armenia-Spyurk relations.

In general, we need to enroot among us the culture of working together and promote the implementation of the tasks facing each of us because our joint efforts should be directed at making Armenia prosperous for one simple reason: Armenia is our Fatherland. There is no other Fatherland and we will bequeath this Fatherland to our future generations. There is no other formula for eternal existence. Those, who don’t understand this formula, remain at the sidelines of history,” stressed the President of Armenia.