Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian on Monday took part at the event dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Armenia and Canada. During the event, which was organized by the Embassy of Canada, the FM made an address.

In his speech, the FM noted that 25 years ago—on January 31, 1992—Armenia and Canada established diplomatic relations.

“Currently, Canada is internationally known for its large-scale humanitarian program. But few know that thanks to one of the first of such programs, the Canadian government saved the lives of 109 Armenian children, who survived the Armenian Genocide, giving them an opportunity to start a new life in the Georgetown city of Ontario state.  

Canada has adopted a principled stance in defense of justice and truth, recognizing the Armenian Genocide both at legislative and executive levels. We highly appreciate the messages of the Canadian Prime Minster on the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which he issues every year. 

We attach importance to the balanced and impartial stance of Canada over the settlement of the Karabakh issue, and value the Canadian parliamentarians who have visited Artsakh in person,”he noted.

According to Nalbandian, the mutual visits and high-level political dialogue between Armenia and Canada are of a continuous nature. “The economic relations, which extend to different spheres—from information technologies to mining—are further developing. The inter-parliamentary ties are [also] strong: the parliaments of both countries have friendship groups.

Our cooperation within the framework of the international organizations is productive. I am especially pleased to note our close cooperation with the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), whose summit Armenia has been honored to host in 2018.

I would like to underscore the important role, which the Canadian Armenian community plays, connecting our country with various initiatives of different kinds.

I would also like to express gratitude to and praise Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Armenia, Jon Ku , who along with his staff carries out visible work for the development of the Armenian-Canadian relations.

Today the Armenia-Canadian relations are entering a new stage, a new quarter-century period. I am confident that the partnership and friendship between Armenia and Canada will continue to deepen and expand, recording new significant pages in the history of our relations,”the Armenian FM concluded.