Friday, February 1 2019 11:04

ArmInfo. In the framework of his official visit to Germany, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Cologne Mayor Henrietta Rocker.According to the press service of  the head of the Armenian government, Henrietta Reker welcomed the  visit of Nikol Pashinyan to Cologne and noted that it is a great  honor for her to receive the Prime Minister of Armenia at the Cologne  City Hall. 

According to her, in Cologne, they closely followed the events in  Armenia in 2018 and with great enthusiasm perceived the success of  the democratic movement, and the fact that the citizens of Armenia  managed to achieve democratic changes by peaceful means. "You inspire  hope to all those people who support the development of democracy in  the world," said the mayor of Cologne, addressing Nikol Pashinyan.The  Prime Minister of Armenia thanked Mrs. Rocker for his high  appreciation and noted that he was pleased to visit the Cologne City  Hall during his official visit. "We managed to achieve democratic  changes in Armenia by peaceful means and implement a process that  combined what seemed incompatible.  We called it the Armenian  non-violent velvet revolution," said Nikol Pashinyan.

The head of the Armenian government noted that at this stage the  issue of transforming the political revolution into an economic  revolution is on the agenda of the Armenian government so that  freedom can bring people well-being. In this context, the Prime  Minister stressed the importance of attracting foreign investment,  including from Germany.The mayor of Cologne referred to the process  of recognition of the Armenian Genocide, noting that the city  contributed to this matter and the khachkar was established in memory  of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. She stressed the importance  of continuing the process of recognition and condemnation of the  Armenian Genocide and noted that it is necessary to work on the  development of a global memory policy.In turn, Prime Minister  Pashinyan noted that Armenia and the Armenian people highly  appreciate the adoption of the resolution condemning the  GenocideArmenians in 2016 by the German Bundestag. "The process of  recognizing the Genocide for us is not only a recognition of  historical fact, but is also of great importance from the point of  view of preventing genocides in the future. The truth must be stated  to fix its condemnation. I note that the promotion of the  international process of preventing genocides is an important part of  Armenia's foreign policy , and the Republic of Armenia is an active  participant in this process, "said Nikol Pashinyan. The Prime  Minister noted that on December 9 last year, the 3rd Global Forum  "Against the Crime of Genocide" was held in Yerevan.At the meeting,  the interlocutors discussed opportunities for developing cooperation. 

Nikol Pashinyan considered it promising to deepen ties in the field  of information technology, welcoming the signing of a memorandum of  cooperation between the respective universities of Cologne and  Armenia.  The Prime Minister also touched upon the activities of the  Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, noting that he has already  become a global brand: such centers operate in Yerevan, Stepanakert,  Paris, they are also planned to open in Moscow, Beirut, Tirana, the  issue of opening a center in Berlin Mayor of Cologne considered  interesting the experience of developing information technology in  Armenia, noting that she would consider the opportunity to visit  Armenia and get acquainted with the technological progress on the  spot.Henrietta Rocker praised the role of the Armenian community (the  largest in Germany) in the development of the city of Cologne and  stressed the importance of the fact that the Diocese of the Armenian  Apostolic Church in Germany is located in Cologne. She stressed the  importance of the signed memorandum of cooperation with the Technical  University of Cologne and expressed readiness to expand ties in other  areas.In this context, Nikol Pashinyan noted that Cologne takes a  specialplace in the preservation of cultural heritage and offered to  considerpossibility of establishing cooperation with Gyumri, the  second cityOf Armenia. According to the head of government, Gyumri  has a richcultural heritage, and sharing experiences with Cologne in  this area can be useful. 

The Mayor of Cologne welcomed this proposal and expressed her  willingness to discuss the details.Nikol Pashinyan left a signature  in the book of honorary guests of the mayor's office. In honor of the  Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, on behalf of the Minister  for European and International Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia,  Stefan Holthof-Pfertner, an official dinner was given.Then Nikol  Pashinyan and his wife Anna Hakobyan visited the Cologne Cathedral,  got acquainted with the history of this famous spiritual and cultural  monument.