Events dedicated to the 31st anniversary of the Independence of Armenia

21 September, 2022

Օn the occasion of the 31st anniversary of Armenia's independence, by the initiative of the Embassy of Armenia in the Netherlands and the King’s Commissioner in the province of Drenthe, ambassadors accredited to The Hague, representatives of international organizations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and journalists visited the cities of Westerveld and Assen on 21 September, 2022.

The cultural day began with a visit to Frederiksoord village. The Governor of Drenthe, Ms. Jetta Klijnsma, addressed the attendees with a welcoming speech, after which the guests visited the town's museum and historical sights included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The events continued in Assen, where the participants visited the exhibition "Under the Spell of Ararat: The Treasures of Ancient Armenia" at the Drents Museum.

Later, a reception dedicated to the National Day of Armenia took place, which was opened by the speech of Ambassador Tigran Balayan.

The ambassador, in particular, thanked the Governor for their hospitality and support during the organization of the visit, referred to the difficult situation in which Armenia is celebrating its independence day. The attention of the attendees was drawn to Azerbaijan's aggression towards Armenia and its severe consequences and the statements and the calls for false equality between the aggressor and the victim, which are becoming the reason for the incitement of a new aggression were criticized.

The ambassador also referred to the developments in the bilateral relations between Armenia and the Netherlands, in particular, highlighting the visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia to the Netherlands and the implementation of the agreements reached during the visit.

The events ended with an awarding ceremony: The Governor was awarded with the Medal of Honor of the Embassy, the Director of the Museum was awarded with the Gold Medal of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and Mr. Nikolay Romashuk-Hayrapetyan was awarded with the Medal of Honor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia for his contribution to the organization of the exhibition and the for the promotion of Armenian Culture in the Netherlands.

Welcoming remarks of the Ambassador Tigran Balayan

Dear Madam Commissioner, Dear Mayor Out,

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen, Beste vrienden,

Սիրելի հայրենակիցներ,

It is an honour for me to welcome you all today at the Celebration of the 31st anniversary of Armenia’s Independence.

I would like to express our utmost gratitude to Ms. Klijnsma for the hospitality extended to us and for the opportunity to gather together in the beautiful province of Drenthe. Thanks to this province, “Armenia came to the Netherlands” and this is the continuation of Armenia’s presence in the Netherlands. According to the records, the last time such a group of Ambassadors visited Drenthe was in 2009.

Our Embassy has decided to celebrate Armenia’s National Day in different provinces each year. Last year we celebrated in Eindhoven with the Dutch business community. This year we are here, in Drenthe and are very excited to be in the premises of the famous Drents Museum, for which particular gratitude goes to Mr. Harry Tupan, the Director of the museum and to his colleagues.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This year we celebrate the 31th Anniversary of our Independence in the gravest circumstances, when our nation is facing a military aggression in blatant violation of international law and order. Today, as we stand on the threshold of our next decade, the territorial integrity of our country is under an imminent threat. This horrendous crime of aggression has claimed the lives of hundreds of servicemen and has left dozens of missing people and hundreds of wounded. These tragic numbers represent only the human losses. 36 settlements have been targeted and huge losses have been inflicted to civilian infrastructure and to the environment.

Today, as we stand against aggression and indifference we pay tribute to our friends. We are grateful to everyone that supported Armenia in this difficult situation. The time of words has ended. The time of fake equality as well. As we witnessed, the mere words and statements, putting equality between the victim and the aggressor did not prevent the attack and we need solidarity and assistance in defending our democratic country against autocracy, whose aim is to wipe off Armenia and Armenians from the earth.

Dear colleagues,

Despite all the difficulties, the year 2022 is also a remarkable one in terms of our bilateral relations with the Netherlands. This year we are celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. We took stock of the existing level of partnership and outlined the architecture of our future cooperation.

We had a visit of Armenia’s Prime-Minister in May, which was a success both in terms of the meetings and agreements. Now, we look forward to the implementations of the agreements reached during the visit. The visit was enriched by a very strong cultural component. The Prime Minister of Armenia has been present during the opening of the exhibition we had the opportunity to visit earlier. During the visit, the gift of Armenia to the Peace Palace - an Armenian cross-stone was unveiled.

Dear friends,

I would like to once again thank you all for giving us your time and for sharing this important day with us. I truly hope that you have enjoyed your day.

MFA RA
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