The New Year Message of the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Judith Farnworth
As 2017 draws to a close, I think this is a great time to reflect on what’s been a very busy and successful year in UK-Armenian relations. From my perspective we’ve achieved a lot in strengthening and deepening our bilateral cooperation in a range of very important areas.
One of the highlights of the year has been the celebration of the 25th anniversary of UK-Armenian diplomatic relations. The British Embassy team worked closely with a range of our Armenian partners to showcase our cooperation in education, culture and business to mark this really important landmark in our relationship.
There are two really important developments which underlined the UK’s commitment to supporting Armenia in its efforts to consolidate itself as a resilient and prosperous democratic country. In September, Sir Alan Duncan, received a very warm welcome from a range of very high level interlocutors to have important consultation about our bilateral relationship. Sir Alan, our Minister for Europe and the Americas, took the opportunity during his visit to announce that Armenia will be included in Her Majesty’s Government’s Good Governance Fund from 2018, which will unlock up to £4m a year over the coming years to support a range of projects in Armenia in the fields of governance and economic reform. We intend to use that money to continue our support to government, parliament and civil society in Armenia.
And in September it was announced that Mark Pritchard, the member of the British Parliament, had been appointed by the Prime Minister of the UK as her Trade and Investment Envoy in Armenia. His job is to improve trade and investment relations between the UK and Armenia.
Another highlight for me was the visit in June of the Salamanca Band. They played for our guests at the Queen’s Birthday Party and they did a fantastic concert in Freedom Square along with the Armenian Military Band.
All of this alongside our regular work to promote defence engagement, human rights, education and cultural links.
2018 looks set to be even busier so we are delighted to welcome a number of new colleagues to help us with the increased workload. Together, we are looking forward to working closely with our Armenian partners to strengthen and develop our cooperation even further. But before that, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.