YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS. On October 24 President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and H.M.E.H. Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta Fra Matthew Festing held a separate private meeting in the Presidential Palace, but before it an award ceremony took place, press service of the Presidential administration told “Armenpress”.

President Sargsyan awarded His Most Eminent Highness Fra Matthew Festing with the Order of Glory for the strengthening and development of inter-states relations between Armenia and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, as well as the significant input on the Armenian Genocide recognition issue.

Grand Chancelor of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta H.E. Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, Grand Hospitaller H.E. Dominique Prince and Count de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel have been awarded with the Orders of Honor for the significant input on strengthening and development of friendly relations between Armenia and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to Armenia Jean-Michel Oughourlian has been awarded with the Order of Friendship.

By the decision of H.M.E.H Fra Matthew Festing and the Sovereign Council President Sargsyan has been awarded with the Highest Award of the Order of Malta – the Collar pro Merito Melitensi. Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received the second highest award of the Order of Malta Grand Cross pro Merito Melitensi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia at the Holy See Michael Minassyan was awarded the Grand Officer Cross pro Merito Melitensi, the Chancellery of Holy Echmiadzin Archbishop Arshak Bishop Khatchatryan received a high award of the Order of Malta the Grand Cross pro Merito Melitensi.

After the award ceremony, President Serzh Sargsyan and the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta Fra Matthew Festing summarized the results of the negotiations in the statements made for the representatives of the mass media.

In honor of the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta Fra Matthew Festing, who is in Armenia on a state visit, President Serzh Sargsyan gave a state dinner.

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Statement by President Serzh Sargsyan for the mass media on the results on the meeting with the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Fra Matthew Festing

Your Most Eminent Highness,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today is a momentous day for all of us: Today the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta is conducting his first visit to Armenia. Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta, which are developing in a friendly and constructive atmosphere, have a years-long history. However at this moment a unique, I would say, a historic bridge is being established between the world’s first Christian nation and the oldest Christian military order. It is also symbolic because back in the time of the crusades, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the Order of Malta had close political and cultural ties, which today are getting a new life. The visit of Your Most Eminent Highness inspires us to give a new quality to our bilateral cooperation.

Moments ago, Fra Matthew Festing and I, in the atmosphere of sincerity and great mutual understanding discussed prospects of bilateral cooperation, as well as important regional and international issues.

We certainly expressed our profound thanks for the humanitarian assistance which the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta has been providing since the devastating earthquake of 1988; the assistance has been significant and certainly didn’t go unnoticed.

We have also discussed opportunities for expanding the cooperation in the areas of medical services, protection and organization of the civilian population in emergencies, joint historical research in which the Order of Malta and Armenia have accumulated impressive experience. On this I certainly believe a very useful work can be carried out: As a result of that useful work we may obtain additional information on the cooperation between the crusaders and the Kingdom of Cilicia.

We concurred that we possess the most important thing for the further development of our cooperation – the same system of values which translates into similar approaches for the resolution of problems. It is no secret that the history of the Armenian people has been full of struggle – for the preservation of our Christian identity and values, for the Christian culture, for the promotion of humanism. One can say that after the adoption of Christianity, Armenians have been carrying out their historic mission in line with the motto of the Order of Malta - Tuition of Faith.

We have also spoken about the special relations existing between Armenia and the Holy See, a mass offered by the Holy Father on April 12, 2015 at the Saint Peter’s Cathedral and dedicated to the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide and certainly about the visit of the Pope to Armenia last June, which in these violent days was a brilliant example of the inter-church solidarity. Taking the opportunity, I thanked His Most Eminent Highness for being present at the mass and for remembering in his prayers the sons and daughters of the Armenian people.

We have certainly spoken about the tragic situation in Syria which became a humanitarian catastrophe. We noted with pain that the Christians, and not only the Christians, there are being prosecuted and tortured. On behalf of Armenia, I expressed readiness to bring our contribution to the implementation of any initiative which will somehow stop the elimination of the Christians and Christian heritage at the Middle East.

Your Most Eminent Highness, once again – welcome to Armenia, welcome to the first Christian nation where we are always delighted to receive Armenia’s distinguished guests.

Thank you.