President Vahagn Khachaturyan awarded Dikran Izmirlian with the Order of Motherland

By decree of the President of the Republic, Dikran Izmirlian was awarded with the Order of Motherland.

During the award ceremony, President Vahagn Khachaturyan, presenting the highest award to his son Sarkis Izmirlian, noted: "The purpose of our meeting today is to award the cherished and grateful son of the Armenian nation Dikran Izmirlian with the highest award of the Republic of Armenia - the Order of Motherland.

It is difficult to overestimate Mr. Izmirlian's contribution to the preservation of the Armenian nation, education, healthcare and many other spheres. Throughout his career, he was guided solely by humanism and by the principles of demonstrating love for the motherland by working, creating and building.

It will take us a very long time to list the programs and initiatives implemented by the Izmirlian Foundation since 1990, which are evidence of the mentioned.

The Armenian people have already highly appreciated the patriotic activities of the Izmirlian family, honoring them with their warm and undeniable love and respect.

But at the same time, our state and we, the state officials, have a special duty to pay tribute, appreciate and reward great friends and dignified sons of our country and nation.

Today, it is with great joy and gratitude that I hand over the highest award of our state to its dignified owner. I am sure that all the activities of Izmirlians have been a source of inspiration for Armenians all over the world for decades.

I am also convinced that we shall witness broader, real and measurable results of this activity in a variety of fields.

Concluding my speech, I cordially congratulate Dikran Izmirlian on being granted the highest state award and the title of National Hero of Armenia, as well as all of us for having such a compatriot next to us."

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President Vahagn Khachaturyan received Sarkis Izmirlian and his wife Katherine Izmirlian. The President highly appreciated the contribution and activities of the Izmirlian family in the development of Armenia.

"It is a great honor for us to appreciate the work done by your father and your family. You are appreciated not only by our state, but also by Armenians around the world.

I hope that in the future, continuing our cooperation, we shall achieve new successes.

Be sure that the current authorities of the Republic of Armenia are doing everything possible for making our country really stronger, the economy developed, people’s life more prosperous and, of course, for strengthening our defense," the President noted.

Expressing his gratitude for the reception, Sarkis Izmirlian said: "It is a great honor for me to meet with You. My family is extremely grateful for the award that my father received today. He always says that Armenians should help Armenians. No matter what part of the world we are in, we are primarily Armenians."