Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan today visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and introduced newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan to the staff, as reported the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia.

In his speech, Pashinyan expressed gratitude to Armen Grigoryan for the work done as acting foreign minister and congratulated Ararat Mirzoyan on assuming office and wished him success.

“Our country is facing extremely serious challenges, which are first and foremost challenges in terms of security. To manage all this and shape a favorable external environment for Armenia, we need to have a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic service that will be able to take and share political responsibility for the present and future of the country.

Mirzoyan and Grigoryan are a part of our political team, and my logic is that, especially in this period, the public administration system needs to function as a whole. In general, Armenia has an agenda for very serious reforms in the public administration system, and I believe, as in the other systems of public administration, we also need to develop and set specific criteria for evaluation of performance and assess the work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the diplomatic service.”

Armen Grigoryan expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Pashinyan for the trust and the personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the cooperation and congratulated Ararat Mirzoyan on being appointed and wished him success with the team of the ministry.

In his turn, Ararat Mirzoyan said the following: “I’m thankful for the great trust. It is extremely difficult, yet also extremely honorable for me to assume the office of foreign minister of Armenia when there are challenges that haven’t been resolved and new challenges facing the country. At this moment, I must assure you that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs won’t spare efforts to help the country overcome the current challenges and undergo the tribulations. We will try to make our modest contribution to lead the country to a better future.

Once again, I am grateful for the trust and your wish for success. I would also like to thank Mr. Armen Grigoryan, who temporarily interrupted his work, which is extremely important, in order to ensure the unobstructed work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Prime Minister wished the newly appointed foreign minister and the staff of the ministry fruitful work for the benefit of Armenia and the Armenian people.