Friday, December 8 2017 14:38

ArmInfo. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian held a number of bilateral meetings in the margins of the 24th OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Vienna.

Thus, during the meeting of Nalbandian with his Finnish counterpart  Timo Soini, it was stressed that the bilateral relations between  Armenia and Finland for 25 years since the establishment of  diplomatic relations were permanently deepened and developed,  including new spheres of interaction. The interlocutors discussed the  intensification of the political dialogue between the two countries,  the stimulation of trade and economic relations, as well as cultural  exchange. At the same time, they stressed the importance of  strengthening inter-parliamentary contacts, expanding the regulatory  framework, and deepening cooperation within the framework of  international organizations.

In the context of the agreement on comprehensive and expanded  partnership signed between Armenia and the European Union, issues of  cooperation between Yerevan and Brussels were touched upon.

Nalbandian presented the efforts of Armenia and the co-chairs of the  OSCE Minsk Group on an exclusively peaceful settlement of the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  On the same day, the Armenian Foreign  Minister met with his counterpart from Iceland Gudlagur Tor  Thodardson, with whom he discussed the current level of bilateral  relations, which, as stated by the interlocutors, do not correspond  to the existing potential. In this regard, they spoke for the need to  intensify efforts to strengthen cooperation in various fields.  The  interlocutors agreed that such meetings and visits at a high level  could contribute to deepening bilateral mutually beneficial  relations. The sides stressed the importance of expanding the legal  framework, the establishment of consultative mechanisms between the  foreign ministries of the two countries, exchanged views on deepening  cooperation at international venues. The ministers discussed the  possibilities of stimulating trade and economic relations, stressing  the high role of holding business forums in this matter.  At the  meeting of Nalbandian with Maltese Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela,  steps were taken to strengthen bilateral relations, and in this  context, the importance of forming a regulatory framework,  organization of inter-ministerial consultations, and intensification  of inter-parliamentary contacts was emphasized. The interlocutors  touched upon the prospects for activating trade and economic  relations, discussed ways to intensify cultural exchange.

The sides stressed the importance of the framework agreement signed  between Armenia and the EU, noting that it lays a solid foundation  for the development of cooperation between the Republic of Armenia  and the countries of the European Union.

At the end of the meeting, the foreign ministers signed an agreement  on cooperation in the sphere of culture.