We Must Walk Steadfastly Towards the Armenia Dreamed By Our Ancestors and Martyrs, Says Nikol Pashinyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended a reception organized for representatives of the state governance system on the occasion of the New Year and Christmas holidays. In his speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated:

“Honorable President of the National Assembly, esteemed representatives of the government, legislative and judicial authorities, first and foremost, I would like to thank all of you for the work done throughout 2021, because typically, complaints about the work of the state system focus on bureaucracy, scruples, and delays. But I would like to remind everyone that 2021 was not a typical year, and in fact, we felt, saw, and confronted a significant portion of the consequences of the 44-day war during 2021. Our state faced great and dangerous challenges, and we should record that we managed to address those challenges. Of course, it was not easy, and the management of those challenges was essential, crucial, to the work done by all attendees, by all state bodies and local self-governing bodies. I truly thank you for that work.

Moreover, overcoming those challenges not only did not harm Armenia's international standing as a democratic state, but rather strengthened it even more. In 2021, extraordinary parliamentary elections were held in the country. With those elections, we were able to unveil a new functionality in the electoral process, conquering the atmosphere of internal political upheaval through the elections, rather than the other way around. Throughout that electoral period, and prior, our entire state system, legal system, and judicial system worked diligently. Furthermore, they worked to avoid succumbing to emotions, attempting to remain loyal to their service, mission, and state order. It is evident that this service was successfully delivered in 2021 due to the addressing of these challenges, which by no means suggests that our work was flawless; on the contrary, during 2020-2021 we discovered several systemic issues that exist in our state governance system. An agenda has been formed that we must, of course, consistently implement.

Our greatest challenge is ensuring external security, but I want to emphasize again that ensuring external security is not solely the function of the army and armed forces; it never has been and must not be. It equally falls within the functions of our diplomatic service and other state governance bodies. Here, I would also like to mention the work of our special services and the important mission and work of our parliamentary diplomacy. I want to highlight that we also overcame significant challenges in ensuring internal security in 2021, and we did so without shocks. In this respect, I wish to again emphasize the work of our law enforcement agencies and the institutions responsible for maintaining law and order.

Dear attendees, dear colleagues, I want to congratulate you and all your families on the New Year and Christmas. I hope that 2022 will truly be a year of renaissance for Armenia. The shocks that occurred in 2020-2021, our ability to pass through the tumultuous path filled with those shocks, which has been displayed, I hope, will indeed help us, strengthen us in building a state worthy of our heroes who fell during the 44-day war, the four-day war before it, and all our martyrs who gave their lives for the homeland. This is perhaps the greatest motivation we have. And this is perhaps the greatest motivation that should never allow us to waver or shake under any circumstances or in any case. We must walk steadfastly towards the Armenia that our ancestors dreamed of, that our martyrs dreamed of, and that we dream for our generations to come. Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!”