Masis Mayilian: The cornerstone of Artsakh`s foreign policy is the  expansion of its international recognition and cooperation

ArmInfo. The cornerstone of Artsakh's foreign policy is expanding the scope of Artsakh's international recognition and international cooperation,  strengthening interaction and friendship between Artsakh and other  states, and expanding the Republic's involvement in the peace  process, emphasizing that the main efforts of the Foreign Ministry  have been focused on ensuring success in these processes.

As the NKR MFA press service reports,  Minister of Foreign Affairs of  Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) Masis Mayilian said this on  January 15 at a press conference  summarizing the activities of the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 2019.

During the press conference, Masis Mayilian briefed on the works  carried out in the foreign policy sphere for the reporting period  aimed at the international recognition of the independence of  Artsakh, the peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict,  the provision of favorable external conditions for the safe  development of Artsakh, the implementation of initiatives in the  international arena that meet the interests of the country.

Referring to the realization of the goals, Masis Mayilian noted that  the year was quite effective. Not only have efforts continued to  strengthen Artsakh's international relations, but steps have been  taken to expand the geography of Artsakh's international cooperation.  Thus, the working visits of the Artsakh delegation to Uruguay,  Argentina, Australia, the United States, Russia, France and Egypt  were held, within the framework of which the NKR Foreign Minister met  with representatives of the political, public and scientific circles  of the respective states. As a result of these meetings arrangements  on cooperation were reached. Within the framework of the visits  traditional meetings with Armenian Diaspora organizations took place.

The Foreign Minister of Artsakh stressed the importance of continuing  the efforts on expanding the frameworks of the decentralized  cooperation between the administrative units of Artsakh and different  countries. In this regard, Masis Mayilian noted, in particular, the  adoption of the resolution on establishing friendly relations between  Stepanakert and the Australian city of Ryde in the run-up to the  working visit of the Artsakh delegation to Australia. A Circle of  Friendship with Artsakh was established in Australia, involving MPs  and Senators of the Federal Parliament, Ministers, as well as the  Prime Minister of the State of New South Wales, the Speakers of the  Upper and Lower Houses of the State Parliament, scientists, clergy  and culture representatives. The Declaration of Friendship signed  between Hadrut region of Artsakh and Isere Department of France in  September 2019, as well as the joint Declaration signed by Artsakh's  Foreign Minister Masis Mayilian and President of the Regional Council  of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes of the French Republic Laurent Wauquiez in  October 2019 also testify to the continued strengthening of the  friendly relations.

The Foreign Minister of Artsakh stressed the importance of the key  political event of the year held in Stepanakert - the Friends of  Artsakh Forum "Cooperation for the Sake of Justice and Peace" -  organized jointly by the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Artsakh  and the ARF Dashnaktsutyun.  Representatives of parliamentary  Friendship Groups and Circles, twin cities, as well as the  administrative-territorial units, which had recognized the  independence of Artsakh or cooperate with Artsakh, in general, over  150 representatives from about 30 states, participated in the Forum.   Following the Forum, the participants adopted a Declaration, in which  they called on the international community to take all necessary  steps to remove the obstacles to the full-fledged participation of  Artsakh in the international cooperation aimed at promoting  democracy, as well as strengthening peace and stability in the  region. Within the frameworks of the Forum, a decision was also made  to create an international network of friends of Artsakh -  "ProArtsakh" - with the aim of raising awareness of Artsakh in the  international arena, protecting the legitimate interests of its  people and promoting the involvement of Artsakh in international  processes.

Masis Mayilian informed that the activity of the Foreign Ministry of  Artsakh in international structures was reaching a new level; in  particular, the Artsakh side had started a process of submitting  national reports on the implementation of the provisions of  international conventions, primarily in the sphere of human rights.  Thus, for the first time, Artsakh disseminated in the UN a periodic  report on fulfilling the provisions of the International Covenant on  Civil and Political Rights. Works on the report on implementing the  provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and  Cultural Rights were launched. Within the frameworks of this process,  the Republic of Artsakh plans to accede to the core international  human rights instruments. The Republic is also expanding its  involvement in the process of discussing global issues and trends.  Just in this context should be considered the adoption by Artsakh of  the UN "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," within the  frameworks of which the National Council for Sustainable Development  was established and the Voluntary National Review on the  implementation of the 'Sustainable Development Goals' was prepared  and submitted to the UN.