Ambassador Tigran Balayan's remarks at the reception dedicated to the end of his diplomatic mission in the Netherlands

27 July, 2023

Dear Director Weststrate,

Excellences, my dearest colleagues,

Dear Mr. Registrar of the ICJ,

Dear Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC,

Dear friends,

Սիրելի հայրենակիցներ,

Thank you for joining me in paying tribute to the beautiful Netherlands for my amazing years spent here. I would like to express particular gratitude to one of my outstanding Dutch friends, Leon Amerlaan, for hosting us today.

As most of you probably know, my native land - Artsakh - Nagorno-Karabakh, is under a complete siege for 7 months now, with imminent threat of ethnic cleansing. Thus, it was a difficult decision for me personally to go ahead with organizing this soiree in these circumstances.

However, my parents and grandparents, my professors and the books I have read, taught me to remain human in any circumstances and be grateful. This event is all about it, to pay tribute to the Netherlands, its people, colleagues, friends, acquaintances and of course my own destiny that brought me to this country of opportunities and hard working people.

Special appreciation goes to my colleagues at the Embassy, who supported me and were instrumental in implementation of my dreams and unrealistic initiatives.

Last five years of my life were intertwined with the Netherlands, its polder system, weather, the North Sea, many brick walls that I had to work hard to break and see them built again. During these years I was lucky to have been part of a truly devoted, committed and passionate community, whose driving force is to contribute to Armenian-Dutch relations, to expand the agenda, and bring our nations closer.

A particular thank you goes to one and only Inge Drost, a Dutch-Armenian Lady from whom I have learned how to navigate in the labyrinths of Dutch politics, its complexities and realities. Bedankt, Inge.

My profound gratitude goes to ChristenUnie, the staunchest and the most consistent supporter of the Armenian nation in Dutch Politics. Several CU politicians were decorated with Armenian State awards and medals, two of them, Mr. Leen van Dijke and Mr. Henk Valk - are here today.

I can’t avoid mentioning another particular friend of Armenia - CDA's former Foreign Affairs spokesperson Martijn van Helvert, the author of the famous motion on Sanctions against Azerbaijani leadership for war crimes.

The city of Peace and Justice - The Hague is the home of International Courts and Organisations, where you experience the finest blend of bilateralism, multilateralism and international justice. One would argue that this is marketing, but only those who spend nights working on issues ranging from chemical non-proliferation to international justice can feel the true blend of multifaceted nature of The Hague. Therefore, my sincere appreciation to the colleagues at the International Court of Justice, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Hague Conference on Private International law, International Criminal Court, The International Commission of Missing Persons, International Organization for Migration and many other multilateral institutions.

My profound gratitude goes to the colleagues from Europol and Eurojust, whose unwavering support was instrumental in negotiating and finalizing the cooperation agreements with these two important EU institutions, based in The Hague. And of course, Hartelijk dank aan de collega's van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken. Bedankt, mijnheer directeur.

Dear friends,

I have learned to work in between Armenian spontaneity and the Dutch way of scheduling everything months and years ahead, and I have loved my stay with every single day learning a new marvelous characteristic of the friendly Dutch people. This reminds me, that among lots of things that I will miss about the Hague, the sea, definitely leads the list. It’s true to say, I have built my very own relationship with the sea, by visiting it every morning, irrespective of weather or season together with my swimming companion Florian, present here.

Second on my list is cycling. I always admired the cycling culture in the Netherlands, which keeps people healthy, fit and the environment clean. If one day I decide to author memoirs of my Ambassadorial tenure in the Netherlands, it will definitely be titled “The Cycling Ambassador”. I can go on with this list, but let me immediately jump to the one thing I will not miss, which is, not surprisingly, the food.

With authentic Armenian modesty, let's talk about some results.

To my family, colleagues and friends it is well known that I am a dreamer, I have been so all my life. In the current turbulent world, you cannot survive without a dream. So when I came here, I had a few dreams that I wished to fulfill throughout the years. The first one was to bring our bilateral relations to a new level, by opening a resident Dutch Embassy in Armenia. I am more than happy to say that it turned into reality with the exceptional help of the Dutch parliament. And the Dutch Ambassador to Armenia Nico Schermers, became a true ally in promoting bilateral relations.

Among the achievements I would mention the best exhibition in the Netherlands of the last year “Under the Spell of Ararat. Treasures of Ancient Armenia”, hosted by Drents Museum, the erection of Armenian Khachkar in the garden of the Peace Palace symbolizing the contribution of my nation to international peace which, unfortunately, remains a dream.

I have also aimed my efforts into bringing Shell to Armenia, which came true: we opened the first Shell station in Armenia a month ago.

Dear friends,

I am convinced that the primary task of every diplomat is to multiply the number of his country’s friends in the host nation, that was also my top goal, which I believe is accomplished as Armenia has much more Dutch friends than 5 years before.

Still, all of this would be impossible without striking criticism and unconditional support of my spouse Hasmik, who took the responsibility not only for the kids, but many other endeavors.

Beste vrienden,

Similar to the despotic regimes in Armenia’s neighborhood, despite our consistent efforts, the weather didn't cooperate, and we were not able to bring Armenian sunny weather, but the mood at the Leon’s enterprise, together with food and drinks will help us to feel in Armenia.

Before asking an extraordinary good friend, Mr. Eric Weststate, Director of Europe at MinBuZa to take the floor and tell in a direct Dutch manner how my dear colleagues at the MFA are celebrating my departure, I want to thank you all very much for being here today.

It is safe to say this is a bittersweet moment, and not only for me) I do not know enough words in Armenian, English, French, or Dutch to thank everyone who was part of my journey to this day

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