ArmInfo. Today is an important day in the Armenian- Japanese relations, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan stated on September 3 at a joint press conference with the Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.
At the same time, he added that this is the first visit at the level of the Japanese Foreign Minister to Armenia. Mnatsakanyan recalled that last year Armenia and Japan celebrated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and this visit is a good opportunity to sum up the cooperation, and to outline further directions for dynamically developing relations. Mnatsakanyan also expressed his gratitude to Kono for visiting the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex. "Over the past 26 years, our bilateral agenda has been developing and is quite rich, and we highly appreciate Japan's constant presence on the agenda of Armenia's constant development." The assistance provided to Armenia by Japan over these years is significant: during this period, the Japanese side granted us a preferential loan of about $ 300 million , grants in the amount of $ 79 million, and also provided technical support in the amount of about $ 11.5 million. More than 600 specialists were retrained in Japan, "the Armenian minister said, adding that this agenda will be continuous.
The Armenian FM stressed that the innovation, infrastructure development, development of democratic institutions in Armenia, including involvement in the forthcoming extraordinary parliamentary elections are the priority areas of cooperation between Armenia and Japan. "We focused on contacts between people. As you know, Armenia has liberalized the visa regime for the citizens of Japan and we expect that in the near future, the Japanese side will also take steps in this direction for our citizens. We also hope that in the near future a direct flight between Yerevan and Tokyo will open, "the Armenian FM noted.
At the same time, he stressed that on the agenda of the meeting were also topical issues of the international and regional agenda. Mnatsakanyan informed that he presented to the Japanese counterpart the framework in which Armenia is involved in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the position on an exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, and the need to create an atmosphere for establishing peace. The Armenian Minister stressed that the issues of security and the status are priority ones for Armenia in the settlement of the conflict.
In conclusion, Mnatsakanyan stressed that within the framework of the visit, his Japanese counterpart will hold meetings with the President and Prime Minister of Armenia, and will also visit the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies.