EU-member States` 16 Special Envoys arrived in Armenia to get  familiar with programs of reforms

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today received the EU-member States' Special Envoys for the Eastern Partnership.  As the press service of the Prime Minister  informs, in his opening remarks, Prime Minister Pashinyan said:  "I  am glad to welcome such a representative delegation from the EU  member states whose primary task is to promote the vision and the  progress of the Eastern Partnership.

Partnership with the European Union is of an immense importance for  Armenia - especially for the institution building and economic  development of our country. The Comprehensive and Enhanced  Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is the main instrument of our  cooperation, and Armenia is fully committed to its implementation.  This is a landmark strategic document, which provides effective  mechanisms for advancing both our partnership with Europe and the  reforms in our country.

We hope that the ratification of the Agreement will be carried out in  a timely manner. I am grateful for those countries which have already  completed it. But at the same time, taking this opportunity I would  like to ask you to convey our request to your governments to expedite  the ratification process.

As you may know, last year our country and society have undergone  through tectonic transformations, which led to the triumph of true  democracy. The Armenian society here in Armenia and in Diaspora has  fully embraced and supported those developments.  Our Government  aspires to strengthen human rights, achieve coherent democracy, good  governance, the rule of law, independence of judiciary and level  playing field for all political and economic actors. This makes us  even closer to the values and aspirations that have been put at the  heart of the Eastern Partnership.

The logical pinnacle of our revolution was the snap parliamentary  elections held last December. I am proud that the international  observers assessed the elections as completely consistent with OSCE  standards, and hailed as democratic, free, fair and transparent. In  fact, they were the best elections ever held in Armenia since the  first years of our independence.  Having finalized the political  transformation, our government is currently concentrated on the  economic transition. We have to make an economic revolution. We have  adopted ambitious reform agenda aimed at establishing a true  competitive environment for doing business, improving and simplifying  the regulatory framework, eliminating barriers to trade, and  attracting foreign direct investment.

As one of our priorities we are currently making steps to promote  technology and knowledge based economy.

Today, the technology sector is one of the driving forces of our  economic growth. Information Technologies have huge potential for  development in Armenia. They are becoming one of our main comparative  advantages and could constitute the corner stone of our economy in  the future.  In this regard I would like to inform you, that Armenia  will host the 23rd World Congress on Information Technology, which  will be held from October 6 to 9, 2019, in Yerevan.  Hundreds of  business community members, academicians and government  representatives from a few dozen countries will attend the event.  Taking this opportunity, I would like to ask you to share this  information with your respective governments to dispatch their  representatives to this remarkable event.

Implementation of reforms is a difficult process requiring  significant financial and intellectual resources. In this regard, the  continuous EU financial and technical assistance is of critical  importance for us. We highly appreciate it. However, to tell the  truth, today we are expecting more support from the EU. We believe  that it should conform with the remarkable democratic achievements  registered in Armenia. Please convey to your capitals the message  that enhanced EU assistance could accelerate the reforms undertaken  in Armenia, and make them more robust and instrumental.

Visa Liberalization Dialogue is another important commitment. Armenia  has been undertaking consistent steps towards the effective  implementation of the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements.  And, we hope that the EU Member States will duly evaluate our  progress and develop the required Visa Liberalization Action Plan.

With regard to the Nagorno Karabakh, I would just like to inform you  that yesterday, I met with the EU special representative for South  Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Mr. Toivo Klaar, and had a  detailed conversation over the conflict and my recent meetings with  president Aliyev.  Here, I want to conclude my remarks just to leave  more time for your questions. I am ready to answer to all your  questions including those pertaining to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue."  On behalf of the delegation, Special Envoy on Eastern Partnership at  Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs  Dr. Thomas M. Buchsbaum stressed the importance of today's meeting,  which was an opportunity to discuss issues related to the Eastern  Partnership program and the deepening of EU-Armenia cooperation.

"Mr. Pashinyan, representatives from 16 EU-member states have arrived  in Armenia to get acquainted with your reform agenda, your vision of  economic revolution and express their readiness to support Armenia,  which is part of the Eastern Partnership program. We welcome the  peaceful implementation of democratic changes in Armenia and the  smooth transition to the parliamentary system of governance," he  said.

Dr. Thomas M. Buchsbaum welcomed the holding of parliamentary  elections in Armenia in December last year, which fully complied with  the standards of democratic elections and the results of which once  again testified to the great public confidence in the Prime Minister  of Armenia.

Speaking about the December 9 elections, Nikol Pashinyan stated, in  part: "They proved to be the first-ever free, fair, transparent and  democratic elections in the history of independent Armenia.   Elections used to be rigged in Armenia before that. The chapter of  fraudulent elections is closed forever, which is the reflection of  our political will. Our agenda is to strengthen democracy and  transform the economy."

The Premier underscored that the economic revolution is supposed to  create real opportunities for people, local and foreign investors,  and the government is already implementing reforms to improve the  applicable legislative and institutional framework, as well as to  introduce new tools.  In response to questions about democracy in  Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized: "Democracy is an inner  conviction for us; it is a system of values to our society, not a  foreign policy or a geopolitical choice."

During the question-and-answer session, Prime Minister Pashinyan  touched upon Armenia's democratic challenges, the strengthening of  democratic institutions, the fight against corruption, the final  success of the reform process, women's increased involvement in  public life, the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the  development of EU-Armenia cooperation, the opportunities available to  Armenia's partners and a number of other issues of topical concern.