ArmInfo.Historically, the cooperation between Armenia and France has been humanitarian, but the time has come to go beyond this framework and have a more coordinated interaction at the level of self-government bodies of the two countries. The Ambassador of France to the Republic of Armenia Jonathan Lacote announced this on February 7 during a meeting of the "France" Group of the Union of Communities of Armenia.
The Ambassador drew attention to the fact that a lot of French entrepreneurs implement cooperation programs with Artsakh. Meanwhile, as was noted, the time has come to remind them that there are also priority areas in Armenia, and assistance should not be carried out at the expense of the other.
Lacote noted that the cooperation between Armenia and France is of particular importance, since it was formed even before the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In particular, the active interaction of local government bodies was emphasized, established after the devastating Spitak earthquake of 1988. With this in mind, the Ambassador noted that some communities of Armenia and France celebrate the 30th anniversary of their cooperation, while diplomatic relations between the two states have a 28-year history. At the same time, as was noted, this interaction continues to be strengthened due to the active position of both the local governments of both countries and the Armenian Diaspora. According to him, in December 2020, this interaction will gain a new impetus thanks to the planned forum with the participation of representatives of local governments of Armenia and France. Jonathan Lacote noted that it is necessary to take advantage of the opportunities of this forum, especially taking into account the fact that this year local elections will be held in all the local communities of France, and the Armenian side will need to establish relations with the newly elected leadership. At the same time, the Ambassador announced the readiness of the French Embassy to assist in this issue.
Jonathan Lacote also pointed out that many changes have occurred in Armenia since 2018, and representatives of the French local governments expect that the existing interaction will reach a new level.