ArmInfo.On October 9, <LivingSmart - Empowering Youth> forum kicked off in Yerevan, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership.
As Armenian President Armen Sarkissian noted in his speech, Armenians are a young nation with an ancient history. <Youth is not related to age. Our youth lies in our thinking, and this, I hope, will lead us to success. The future belongs to those who are young in soul>, he emphasized, urging the young generation to live freely, develop their own creativity and gain new knowledge.
The President compared Armenia to a startup that has great potential. According to him, the EU can gain a lot through cooperation with countries such as Armenia. "Our people are full of hope, enthusiasm and faith in the future, and Europe can learn a lot from us," the President said, adding that Armenia considers the EU as its partner. Luc Pierre Devigne, Deputy Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia European External Action Service - EEAS, praised the interaction with the RA. "We are an important investor, which testifies to our confidence in your future," he emphasized. According to him, within the framework of the Eastern Partnership, tangible results were achieved by facilitating the implementation of reforms in various fields. At the same time, as Luc Pierre Devigne informed, the implementation of initiatives that have demonstrated their success (for example, the Erasmus + program aimed at supporting cooperation in the field of education) will continue.
EU Ambassador to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin in her speech noted that Armenia is moving towards serious reforms, and, for its part, the European Union will continue to provide its assistance. "We are pleased to cooperate with the Armenian authorities," she said, adding that interaction with the EU opens up new opportunities for young people, including in the field of education. The Eastern Partnership is a project of the European Union, with the main stated goal of developing integration ties of the European Union with Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. Among the main priorities of the reforms in the partner countries and their cooperation with the EU are democracy, improving the governance system and ensuring stability; economic integration; liberalization of the visa regime and strengthening the fight against illegal migration.