President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan received Canada’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Alison Marie LeKeler (residence: Moscow) in connection with completing the diplomatic mission.
Welcoming the guest, the president said. “I thank you for your work in the development of Armenian-Canadian relations. Canada is one of the countries that quickly recognized the independence of the Republic of Armenia. It was January 1992. After that, our relations had a dynamic development, and in recent years, our cooperation has become more active. We have not forgotten Canada’s support to Armenia, especially after the 44-day war of 2020, which was shown at political and other levels. As a result of that development, Canada will open an embassy here in October. It will be a new impetus for developing our relations.”
Expressing his gratitude for the reception, the ambassador noted. “It was a great honor for me to represent Canada in Armenia. I want to take this opportunity to thank your staff and all officials. Our cooperation has been constructive, positive, and forward-looking, even though Armenia has faced many difficult times during my tenure and continues to face them. During that difficult period, there was also an opportunity to significantly contribute to developing Armenian-Canadian relations.
There is an active and mobilized diaspora in Canada, and while it is sad that I am leaving, it is also nice to know that I am going behind a new embassy, a new ambassador who I know will do an excellent job. I am leaving a platform that will contribute to developing our relations, especially in the trade and economic sphere. We know this area has a lot of growth, but much more can be done.”
During the meeting, the steps taken to develop further Armenian-Canadian relations and the possibilities of realizing the existing potential were discussed. The importance of the opening of the Canadian embassy in Armenia in October was emphasized by both sides, which will be an additional incentive for further closer cooperation between the two countries.
The current security challenges and general realities in the South Caucasus region were discussed during the conversation. In this context, President Khachaturyan emphasized that Armenia is firm in establishing stable and lasting peace in the area and solving existing problems exclusively through political and negotiated means.
