Argentina Celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations With Armenia

Ester Mkrtumyan

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina and the Armenian Embassy in the country commemorated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries with an event on the night of Wednesday, July 5.

Rodolfo Zlauvinen, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, opened the event by pointing out that Argentina has been one of the top five investors in Armenia for more than a decade and spoke of a "fluid political dialogue": "It is not surprising that all the presidents of Armenia, since their independence in 1991, have visited Argentina." He also stressed that the Argentinian-Armenian Parliamentary Friendship Group "is one of the most active we have."

"The Argentine people have always been close to the Armenian people in having to confront their past. That is why the Argentine Congress adopted the law that declares every April 24 as the Day of Action for Tolerance and Respect Between the Peoples," he added during his speech, in reference to the Law 26,199 that formally recognizes the Armenian Genocide.

Rodolfo Zlauvinen

Ester Mkrtumyan, Armenian ambassador to Argentina, brought Armenia's desire to "give new content to the cooperation with Latin American countries".

"We want Argentina to be a special gateway for Armenia in Latin America. Reciprocally, Armenia may be the bridge that links Argentina to the Eurasian Economic Union, which represents a market of two hundred million people."

"The Argentine Armenian friendship is solid and durable, since it is based on the ​​common values of both peoples, proof of which is the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by law in 2006," added Mkrtumyan.

Lawyer and former judge Leon Carlos Arslanian expressed that "the fact that the Armenians and their descendants are not just a migratory phenomenon but a diaspora, is merit of the humanist principles that conjoined the institutional design of Argentina. The diaspora is an incohercible force charged with ethics and moral worth. It is not only the search for new and promising horizons, but above all, it seeks three objectives: the preservation of life, the struggle for truth to prevail and the demand for justice."

Leon Carlos Arslanian

During the ceremony, which was attended by representatives of all Armenian institutions, including Kissag Mouradian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church for Argentina and Chile and Dr. Daniel Stamboulian, there were a number of artistic shows of tango and Armenian dances.