Honorable President of the Republic of Armenia
Honorary President of the Republic of Artsakh,
Your Holiness,
Honorable Speaker of the National Assembly,
Dear Compatriots,
Dear Guests,

I congratulate all of us on Independence Day.

Today, we are celebrating the 27th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. The 1991 referendum, as the direct and supreme form of expression of our people’s will, clearly demonstrated what our people wanted: political independence in the external world and democracy in domestic life.

All layers of all the classes of our people unanimously chose a way that might be difficult, but it was the only true and only honorable way. Today, we are honoring all those who brought us closer to that long-cherished day, and we are paying tribute to all those who fought for the precious gift of liberty and defended our independence.

The past 27 years were sometimes dramatic, sometimes tragic, sometimes heroic, and often marked by brilliant solutions given to complex issues. Unfortunately, there were mistakes, and sometimes even crimes. But one thing remained stubborn and unbreakable - the will of our people.

Our people’s aspiration to freedom, democracy, dignity, independence remained steadfast. During this time, our public institutions have been established and strengthened. We have achieved this through joint efforts exerted by the authorities, the opposition and the whole nation.

Our achievements in the field of State building are undeniable. The most striking example of this is that even during the recent revolutionary events in Armenia, the State machinery and its structures worked almost uninterruptedly.

Revolutions are a serious test for any State, and our State institutions have taken that test. Nevertheless, our governance system needs serious reforms, and these reforms should be both institutional and organizational. The further development of the country is impossible without having an efficient, professional, human-centered management system.

Dear Compatriots,

Our country has entered a new era, and we have the responsibility to tackle the problems accumulated over the past 27 years. The key bottleneck is that corruption schemes are intertwined with State structures. The entire State system has been damaged, which seriously impedes the development of the economy and our society, as a whole.

Our task is to eradicate all corruption schemes, to form an independent and legitimate judicial system in order to guarantee freedom of speech and political activity, as well as the protection of human rights.

Our task is to give new impetus to our economy, the pillar of which should be the free and creative citizen who believes in himself, believes that he can change the reality and the world, believes that even starting from scratch, he can create new Armenian brands with business talent that will conquer the world, and finally change the destiny of Armenia.

The new generation of business people should act as new players in the new Armenia. They should get enriched with their own work and sweat, and who, together with the government, should be responsible for building a new economic system and new economic relationships in the country.

And we will do our best to support these people. By the way, by saying a new generation of businessmen, I mean not only the startups, but also those who have been active or are ready to act under the logic of legitimacy, economic honesty, love and solidarity.

And by adhering to the spirit of dialogue and cooperation with all these people, we must change the economic structure of our country significantly so that from an agrarian, mining, and bidding country Armenia could grow into a highly technological, industrial, digital and technological country.

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