ArmInfo. On April 3, the working visit of the delegation led by the chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh Ashot Ghulyan to France was started in the department of Drome. Head of the parliamentary faction "Hayreniq" Artur Tovmasyan, mayor of Marduni Mher Khachatryan and permanent representative of the Artsakh Republic in France Hovhannes Gevorgyan, are in the delegation, the press service of the Artsakh parliament reports.
In the mayor's office of the city of Bourg-Les-Valence, the Mayor Marlene Mourier received the delegation of Artsakh. Expressing gratitude for the reception, Ashot Ghulyan noted that continuous cooperation between the cities of Artsakh and France is developing and Bourg-Les-Valence is one of the successful examples of cooperation in the humanitarian sphere. Marlene Mourier noted the importance of direct contacts, stressing that since last year they are trying to strengthen cooperation with specific programs, in particular, to organize a fair of goods produced in Artsakh and, in particular, in Shushi.
Then in the mayor's office of Valence, the delegation met with the mayor of the city Nicolas Daragon. Mayor of Valence greeted the chairman of the Artsakh parliament and expressed readiness to develop cooperation between the cities, considering the priorities of interaction in the sphere of education and culture.
Ashot Ghulyan thanked for the reception, noting that Artsakh highly appreciates friendly ties with French cities and these relations do not need artificial politicization. According to him, the bodies of public and local self-government of Artsakh need to improve the organization of their work and in this context are looking for opportunities to exchange experience with developed democracies and cities.
The meetings were attended by the Deputy Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Lyon Gayane Manukyan, the head of the France-Artsakh Friendship Circle, Francois Rochebloine, representatives of the Armenian community.
In the afternoon, a ceremony of signing a new agreement on cooperation between the cities of Bourg-de- Peage and Marduni is foreseen.
Within the framework of decentralized cooperation between Artsakh and France, friendly relations were established between the cities of Valence and Stepanakert (May 17, 2015), Bourg-Les-Valence and Shoushi (October 5, 2014).