Monday, October 2 2017 16:01

ArmInfo.Armenia has close ties with the European Union and it intends to expand  comprehensive cooperation in all areas of mutual interest. On October 2, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian announced this at a joint press conference with the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Johannes Khan.

The Armenian Minister stated that contacts, meetings and dialogue  with the European Commissioner are permanent and this is the sixth  meeting this year, which will allow further joint discussions. "The  EU provides valuable assistance to the ongoing reforms in the  country, constantly promotes the promotion of human rights protection  and the rule of law, the strengthening of democratic institutions, as  well as efforts to improve the judicial system and effective  governance. I would like to emphasize our cooperation in the  framework of the parliamentary elections held in April in Armenia,  "the Armenian Foreign Minister said.

At the same time, he added that bilateral cooperation has achieved  serious successes, Armenia joined the program "Horizon 2020",  "COSME", besides the programs on "Creative Europe" programs and the  creation of a common aviation zone were completed, negotiations on  the priorities of the Armenia-EU partnership .  "I would especially  like to emphasize that the talks have been concluded and the  agreement between Armenia and the EU on the broader and comprehensive  Armenia-EU partnership has been initialed. The signing of this  agreement in Brussels in November at the Eastern Partnership summit  may become one of the main achievements of the summit. Preparations  for the Brussels summit occupied the predominant part of the agenda  of our talks. We exchanged views on the final declaration of the  summit, "Nalbandian said.

At the same time, he stressed that the promotion of people-to-people  contacts occupies an important place in the agenda of Armenia-EU  relations, and the liberalization of the visa regime is one of the  most important elements in stimulating people-to-people contacts and  mobility, which is recorded in the Vilnius and Riga final  declarations.

In his turn, Khan stressed that this is the sixth meeting with  Nalbandian this year, which testifies to close cooperation between  Armenia and the EU.