On April 9, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Estonian counterpart, Margus Tsahkna, attended the opening of Estonia’s resident embassy in Yerevan during Tsahkna’s official visit.
In his remarks, published by the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna noted:
“Dear friends,
Ararat, my good friend, when I was last here, I promised that during my next visit I would open the Estonian embassy. Today, that is exactly what we are doing—we are opening the Estonian embassy in the heart of Yerevan. I can say that this year is truly historic: Estonia, as a small country, sees that a number of countries, especially in Europe, are closing their embassies, while we are opening five new ones. And among them, the first is the Embassy of Estonia in the Republic of Armenia.
This is our priority, because I see that you are guiding Armenia toward peace, toward European values, toward prosperity, and we want to be your friends. We truly are. We truly want to support you, and the highest level of support, the highest diplomatic commitment, is through an embassy here. It is permanent. We have our new ambassador, who has done a great job and will do even more in the future. Thank you very much for your support, because politically it is easy to decide to open an embassy, but in real life it takes time—diplomatic negotiations, practical arrangements, and building a team. I greatly appreciate all of this.
We are not alone here: Canada and Sweden are also with us, as well as several countries from the Nordic region. But Nordic nations are generally among the most reliable friends, so you can count on us. Estonians are friends of Armenians. This is something interesting—it comes from history—that we love you as a people, even though we are far away from each other. We want to be together with you. In these challenging times, you are making historic decisions not only for your nation, but also for the region and for all of Europe. I am pleased that soon our Prime Minister will also visit Armenia, as well as many leaders of the European community and heads of the European Union.
But now something very practical and of bilateral importance: today we launched practical cybersecurity exercises with the participation of more than 10 different teams, testing in real conditions how to respond to various attacks. In addition, a business program has been launched to help Armenian businesses find new markets. This is already a very practical level. I can assure you that we are already here—by your side—and there will be more. But first of all, I would like to thank you, my good friend Ararat, as well as the Armenian people, for your courage in making decisions and following your spirit. That spirit is freedom. We know that today’s world is a very, very crazy world, and unfortunately freedom is not granted; we must stand for freedom. However, history also shows that this can never be done alone.
Friends are always necessary, and I can assure you that Estonians will remain your best friends—at least in Europe, and perhaps in the entire world. Once again, I thank you, my good friend, for the opportunity to be here at this historic moment and to open an embassy. The roots of friendship between our nations go back decades, and I am confident they will deepen further in the future. We Estonians have lived in our region for about 10,000 years or even more, and we also have a plan for the next 10,000 years.
So let us join this shared plan for the future, stand for our future together, and enjoy freedom. Once again, thank you very much for this cooperation.
Thank you.”
Minister Mirzoyan stated:
“Mr. Minister, my good friend Margus, I am pleased to see you again in Yerevan on such an important occasion.
Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, Dear friends,
It is truly a great pleasure for me to join you in marking this significant milestone in Armenia–Estonia relations—the opening of the resident Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Yerevan. Of course, we all understand that this decision was not an easy one, neither in terms of its adoption nor in terms of advancing it through all the relevant bodies of the Estonian government.
Believe me, I know very well how difficult this is. We also have our own special relations with our colleagues at the Ministry of Finance and all other partners, who, of course, welcome such decisions. Jokes aside, this is indeed a very important event.
It certainly reflects the commitment of Estonia, the Estonian government, and personally yours, dear friend, to developing Armenia–Estonia relations, as well as continuing support—providing strong backing to Armenia’s democracy and to the Armenian people on their path toward freedom, sovereignty, and, of course, territorial integrity and prosperity.
We feel this same support not only at the bilateral level but also fully within the framework of Armenia–EU relations. There has not been a single issue or concern raised by the Armenian delegation or the Republic of Armenia that has not received the support of the Estonian delegation.
Therefore, we highly appreciate your support, we value your position, and allow me to congratulate all of us—yourself, dear Minister, as well as you, Madam Ambassador, the first resident Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Armenia.
Please be assured that a team of friends awaits you at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. You can always find understanding and support in that building, which, by the way, is very close, and whose address you know.
So, I congratulate all of us.
As you noted, dear friend, dear Margus, we have a very rich past, but let us focus on the future, which will undoubtedly be even brighter and stronger.
Congratulations.”
