It is a pleasure and an honor to speak at the commencement ceremony and the 50th year anniversary of an institution whose life parallels and reflects the history, experiences and transitions that have made Lebanon. Armenians are proud to be an inextricable part of that history.

As a representative of the Armenian government, I am pleased that today, the links between our two states - the Lebanese Republic and the Republic of Armenia - are as warm and friendly as those between our peoples. Armenia and Lebanon understand each other's dreams and are willing to act together in the name of a shared, prosperous future.

Armenians lived through Lebanon's difficult years in the last century, just as Lebanon had welcomed Armenians in the century's complicated first years.

The survivors of the genocide, wandering refugees, orphaned and dislocated, reached these shores and cities, where a most hospitable host welcomed the remnants of a traumatized population trying to reconstruct lives and construct communities. Homeless and destitute, they recognized that they needed support institutions -- church, school, newspaper, and association.

This was the need in all Diaspora communities, but nowhere did this pattern prevail and succeed as it did in Lebanon. The large numbers of newcomers relative to the local population, a country accustomed to confessional identities, a dynamic economy, multiethnic and pluralist - this was and is the Lebanon where Armenians put down roots and thrived.

I never lived in Lebanon, but I feel as if I have, because I was here often, having been born and raised in Syria. The birth pangs and growing pains of the modern Middle East form my memories and my outlook.

I remember 1967 and my father's disappointment over the Palestinians' loss. We knew first hand the aspirations for a homeland, and we could imagine the frustration and pain.

I remember 1970 and being sent home from school when Gamal Abdel Nasser died and with him died the dream of Arab unity.

I remember 1975 and my summer in Beirut, on the way to college in Armenia, when shots were fired as part of what became a civil war. And from a distance we followed with agony as whole cities and neighborhoods went up in flames.

I remember being here in 1986, after a decade of absence, only to be devastated by the devastation.

I remember 1999 and my first visit as Foreign Minister, to discover a rebirth, a new Lebanon, and a new era of survivors. Today, as I drive, I see a resurrected capital with a people committed to their own vision of their country's future.

Today, there is a new vision for Lebanon and the Middle East. Those for whom this is the center of the world, as well as those who still see this part of the world as the land of the Arabian Nights, are looking for the prudence, wisdom and the traditions of the East to be transformed into egalitarian opportunities for a stable region on which the world depends for much more than oil.

Armenians in and out of Lebanon want this no less than anyone else. We, too, live in a part of the world that was fashioned according to individual visions and not in reflection of the region's realities or requirements. For us, what happens in the Middle East is a guideline for what we can expect in our region.

After all, this isn't far from our own backyard. Even without the inestimable benefit of an active, mobile, cosmopolitan Diaspora, Beirut is only 600 miles from Yerevan, as the crow flies. With globalization becoming not a theory but a way of life, there really isn't much separating us.

On the contrary, much connects us. Number one among them is education. Armenia's educational institutions have become the alma maters for many young men and women from the Middle East. And the educational facilities of Lebanon are part of the life and legacy of the Diaspora.

That legacy is visible, tangible and appreciated in this educational institution. The 50 years of excellence, relevance, and perseverance of Haigazian is the kind of legacy and vision we must protect, cherish and nurture, not neglect and dismantle.

These institutions, whether in Beirut, Cyprus, and Venice or, Jerusalem, or Istanbul, these are the symbols and proof not only of a people's determination to survive but also to prosper and to ensure continuity no matter where. I saw this first as a Diasporan who benefited from the vision and largesse of the educational institutions of the Mekhitarist Fathers and the Armenian General Benevolent Union. Later, as a young adult, I profited from the seriousness with which the Soviet Republic of Armenia held its educational institutions when I studied at Yerevan Polytechnic Institute. As a former engineer and now a diplomat, I know that education is what comes first, last and always in the life of any community, any people, any polity, any nation, any country that is serious about its future.

Life is about learning. Life is learning to live as a member of a society. Education is the transmission of civilization and common values and a common memory. Without these, there is no shared future. When people are well-informed, they can govern and be governed. Aristotle said that 'All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.'

I'm not here to talk about empires. I'm talking about things within your reach -- about rebuilding Lebanon, about moving Armenia out of transition.

When we had a fatherland - inaccessible, inhospitable, withdrawn into itself, with its politics and identity decided and shaped by forces outside its borders -- it was natural that our communities throughout the world, large or small, new or old, often thought of themselves as substitutes for the real country, as a virtual fatherland.

There is no longer any need to live a substitute or virtual reality. The Republic of Armenia exists, it is independent, and it is ours. It still needs its Diaspora, more than ever, not to substitute but to complement. We must cooperate, not compete. The challenge is to succeed together, not to fail separately, not be led by indifference and complacency. If Armenia's policy of complementarity has succeeded in our foreign relations, perhaps it's time to announce a policy of complementarity with our Diaspora - a One-Armenia policy, where the Armenia of our dreams turns into the Armenia of our future.

Haigazian is a building block in that dream. It is here and must stay, by all means possible. It is well-received, it is respected and it is loved. Its alumni are everywhere, and we want you to become the builders of that dream - in Lebanon, or wherever you choose. Come to Armenia and participate in Armenia's efforts to grow, to bloom and to yield the fruits.

Haigazian has succeeded because it knew when and how to adapt. This is the ultimate Armenian skill, it is also the characteristic that put Lebanon at the heart of a transforming Middle East. Dear graduates, in this century, you and those who come after you will learn more than how to read and write, you will train for more than one career. You will learn that there is no end to learning - for those who can't learn, relearn, unlearn and learn again will not be able to keep pace with the personal, professional, national and international challenges that face us.

I am convinced the hundredth anniversary is around the corner, and may we celebrate it in a country, in a region, in a world of peace and prosperity.