Tuesday, May 14 2019 18:10

ArmInfo.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is on a working visit to the People's Republic of China, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the House of  People's Representatives. After the handshake and protocol  photography, the leaders of the two countries discussed a number of  issues on the Armenian-Chinese agenda.

According to the press service of the Prime Minister, the President  of the People's Republic of China noted that he was pleased to  receive Prime Minister Pashinyan and thanked for the fact that the  head of the Armenian Cabinet accepted the invitation to take part in  the Dialogue of Asian Civilizations forum.  Xi Jinping noted that the  PRC attaches importance to the consistent development of relations  with Armenia in various fields. Speaking of strong historical and  cultural relations, which, according to the PRC President, are the  result of the "Silk Road", he noted that the names of Aram  Khachatryan, Artem Mikoyan and Hovhannes Tumanyan are familiar to  China. "We are united by the common goals of cooperation among  civilizations. We are well aware of significant historical events in  Armenia. We are confident that in the future tragic events in the  life of Armenia will be excluded," he said.

According to him, China is ready to take part in the construction of  the North-South highway and the implementation of other  infrastructure programs.

As Xi Jinping noted, some Armenian goods have recently been  successfully participating in exhibitions and are represented in the  local market. He expressed confidence that in the near future,  bilateral trade, as well as cooperation in the fields of industry,  transport and culture will develop. The President of the People's 

Republic of China also expressed his readiness to promote programs  aimed at developing bilateral ties.  Nikol Pashinyan, in turn,  thanked for the invitation, noting that it would be a good  opportunity to discuss the prospects for cooperation. "Relations with  China are among the priorities of Armenia's foreign policy," he said.  Noting the historical ties between Armenia and China, Pashinyan said  that the Republic of Armenia attaches importance to constructive and  effective relations with the PRC.  The head of the Armenian  government stated that Armenia is interested in the implementation of  joint programs within the framework of the initiative "One belt, one  Road".

Pashinyan told the PRC President about the recent reforms in Armenia.  He stressed that today Armenia is a predictable, politically stable  and dynamically developing country.  The leaders of the two countries  in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual trust exchanged views on  Armenian-Chinese relations, as well as on issues of international and  regional agenda of mutual interest.  They touched upon the Karabakh  conflict, and it was stressed that the issue should be resolved  exclusively through dialogue.

The interlocutors considered promising the development of cooperation  in the fields of agriculture, transport, energy, education, etc. It  was agreed to discuss further steps for cooperation at the  departmental level.

After the meeting, Pashinyan and his wife took part in the gala  dinner of the forum "Dialogue of Asian Civilizations" given on behalf  of the President of the PRC.  The event was attended by the leaders  of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Greece, Mongolia and Uzbekistan.

On May 15, Pashinyan will give a speech at the forum.