On March 21, the official opening ceremony of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Uruguay was held with the participation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and Omar Paganini, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay.

The Armenian flag was raised by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, after which the national anthems of Armenia and Uruguay were played.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay and Interim Vice President of Uruguay, Acting President of the General Assembly and Chamber of Senators, Graciela Bianchi Poli made notes in the Book of Honorable Guests.

The event was attended by a number of other high-ranking officials, including the President of the Chamber of Representatives of Uruguay Ana Olivera, deputy ministers, heads of accredited diplomatic missions in Montevideo, representatives from the Armenian community, public and political figures.

In his remarks, Minister Mirzoyan noted:

“Honourable Mr. Minister,
Honourable Madam Vice President,
dear guests,
ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure and honor for me to welcome you today in Uruguay, in Montevideo, already officially in this small territory of the Republic of Armenia. It is a double and triple great honor and happiness for me to raise the flag of my country, the Republic of Armenia, and, to give an official start to the opening of the resident embassy of the Republic of Armenia in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

We should note with satisfaction that since 1992, when our two countries established diplomatic relations, we have managed to establish warm, friendly relations and build a very high-level political dialogue.

At the same time, it should be noted that the leadership of the two countries clearly understands that it is time to deepen these relations, this partnership, build economic relations and cultural ties, and promote people-to-people contacts based on them. However, for this reason, an important link was missing: the resident embassies of the two countries in respective capitals.

Today we can proudly note that this gap has been filled. The resident Embassy of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay operates in Yerevan, and the flag of Uruguay flies there, and the resident Embassy of the Republic of Armenia operates in Montevideo, and the national flag of the Republic of Armenia flies here.

I would also like to note that the relations between our two countries are based on long historical warm relations between the two peoples. More than a hundred years ago, Uruguay gave shelter to Armenians who escaped from the Armenian Genocide and became a home for those Armenians, and for this, we truly express our gratitude. At the same time, we see that Armenians and their descendants have been able to have all the opportunities to develop and now represent an important, loyal, and prosperous part of Uruguayan society.

And now I would also like to convey my greetings to the Armenian community in Uruguay and express my gratitude to them for being a bridge between the two states. And also for its very material testimony: this embassy was opened at the request and efforts of the Armenian community in Uruguay.

You know that Armenia also went through difficult periods a hundred years ago and today as well. And I want to take advantage of this good opportunity and once again convey the gratitude of the Armenian people to the people of Uruguay, to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay for being by our side in all difficult periods.

We are here today for a very good occasion, and thank you for joining us to share this joy. I congratulate everyone on this good occasion.

Thank you.”