ArmInfo. As the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told ArmInfo, the Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan stated during a welcoming speech at the opening of the meeting of the BSEC Foreign Ministers Council on June 27.
At the same time, he reaffirmed the commitment of the new Armenian government, to fully apply the BSEC potential in stimulating regional economic and trade cooperation, as well as effectively implementing the organization's charter goals. In this context, the Armenian minister emphasized that the above-mentioned goals are also the basis of Armenia's presidency in the BSEC. "Being the coordinating country of the BSEC working group on communications and information technologies, which has a significant potential in the field of information and communication technologies and programming, Armenia encourages consistent cooperation between the Organization's member states in this field." In 2019, the world congress of information technologies will be held in Armenia. BSEC member countries take this opportunity, share and benefit from our collective experience, maximize the having broadened cooperation in this field," Mnatsakanyan said.
At the same time, he stressed that the sustainable development of tourism has a significant potential for cooperation in the BSEC region. The Armenian Minister informed that Armenia initiated the project "Wine Tourism on the Silk Road" and it also implements in the BSEC in the framework of cooperation with the World Tourism Organization. Mnatsakanyan noted that the project already enjoys the support of some BSEC member states and urged the others to join as well.
At the same time, the minister said that in the business area, Armenia attaches importance to the more active involvement of the BSEC economic community, to stimulating and supporting small and medium- sized business in business relations. "We are also convinced that the BSEC economic agenda for 2012 needs to be revised and adapted to the current world economic trends.In this respect, the institutional potential of the BSEC needs a realistic assessment." BSEC is not the only international organization that is going through reforms. However, the reform process does not mean a revision of the organization's main goals .We are convinced that in order to improve the effectiveness of BSEC, practical and realistic measures aimed at achieving the strategies outlined in the Declaration of the Final Summit and the BSEC Community," Mnatsakanyan said.
At the same time, the Armenian Foreign Minister expressed the conviction that economic cooperation within the framework of the BSEC will benefit even more if it interacts with other regional and other organizations and integration platforms. "Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, which allows 180,000 consumer markets to enter the free customs zone." Armenia also has a strong and expanding partnership with the European Union, the legal basis of which is the comprehensive and expanded partnership agreement. "In October, Francophonie, on the margins of which will be held a business forum that will become a solid platform for regional and global business partners, government representatives and civil society from 80 countries of the world. Of course, we expect the participation of our BSEC partners and their business circles in this forum," concluded Mnatsakanyan.