Monday, February 5 2018 12:49

ArmInfo. The delegation of the National Assembly of Armenia paid a working visit to the Republic of Artsakh from February 2 to 4. Within the framework of the visit, the Armenian parliamentarians held a meeting with Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan. During the meeting, sides held talks about further expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation between the republics.

On February 3, a session of parliamentarians of two Republics was also held at the parliament of NKR. Speaker of the National Assembly of Artsakh Ashot Ghoulian noted the high level of interparliamentary cooperation betweentwo republics. In his turn, the head of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) faction Vahram Baghdasaryan highly assessed the level of cooperation between the two parliaments. The parliamentarians of the two countries discussed and exchanged views on the draft declaration of the National Assembly on the Sumgait massacre, which will be presented in the Armenian parliament in the coming days. Appropriate reports were also made by the heads of the parliamentary commissions of the two countries. In particular, the head of the NA Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, Koryun Naapetyan, stressed that the military budget of Armenia has increased by 37 billion drams in recent years, which allows to ensure the balance of forces in the region and the modernization of the Armenian armed forces. Artsakh parliamentarians also delivered speeches. In particular, the head of the faction of the ruling "Hayrenik" party Azat Tovmasyan emphasized the need not to intensify the process of lobbying the issue of international recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh. With this proposal, he appealed to his colleagues from the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" party, as it has influential structures abroad and actively lobbies various issues of pan-Armenian importance. "The time has come for the Armenian parliamentarians, as well as the ARFD abroad structures, to actively promote the issue of recognition of Artsakh on international platforms, as it is done in the case of the issue on the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey.This will not only harm the negotiation process on Karabakh settlement, but will in many respects assist him, since Azerbaijan to some extent will pacify Azerbaijan, "explained the parliamentarian. He also considered it necessary to reform the interstate agreement between Armenia and Artsakh in accordance with the new realities. "We must do this in anticipation of Armenia's recognition of the independence of Artsakh," the lawmaker said. Armenian parliamentarians also met with the state minister of the Republic of Artsakh Araik Harutyunyan on February 3. During the meeting, the state minister of Artsakh noted the importance of meetings in this format, emphasizing that they provide an opportunity to organize effective discussions on various issues. Araik Harutyunyan presented the guests the current state of the economy of Artsakh, and stressed the growth that GDP growth in 2017 was 15%, which is considered record. The State Minister also noted that in the coming years it is planned to implement a number of programs, in particular in agriculture, energy, intend to intensify the process of repatriation. On the last day of their working visit, on February 4, Armenian parliamentarians met with the commander of the NKR Defense Army Lieutenant General Levon Mnatsakanyan. During the meeting, the NKR Defense Army commander briefly presented the situation on the contact line between the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, on the processes conducted in military units and at the front, and on the work done to improve the social conditions of servicemen.