Armenia expressed readiness to develop relations with India to a  qualitatively new level

ArmInfo.Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Armen Grigoryan participated and delivered  remarks at the event dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the  Independence of India.  As the press sevice of the RA MFA reports, in  his remarks, the Acting Foreign Minister particularly said:  "On  behalf of the Government of Armenia and my own, I would like to  welcome the delegation of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations  to Armenia.

I am also pleased to send our warmest congratulations on behalf of  the Government of Armenia on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of  India's independence.

India, with its statehood and culture, has always had a solid place  in world civilization. And today we are witnessing the significant  achievements of the society of India, which has a positive impact on  comprehensive progress.

The relations and the historical ties between Armenians and Indians  derive from the depths of millennia. They have especially intensified  in the 17-19th centuries, when a large number of Armenian communities  were formed in a number of major Indian cities, playing an active  role in the social, political, economic and cultural life of India.

I would like to commend that since the establishment of diplomatic  relations, Armenia and India have managed to turn the centuries-old  friendly relations into a warm interstate and partnership cooperation  based on mutual respect and trust.

In recent years, many contacts and cultural events have taken place  between our countries. We have also established effective cooperation  on multilateral platforms.

Unfortunately, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic from January of  2020, and the Azerbaijani- Turkish aggression against Armenia and  Artsakh in September of 2020, did not allow us to implement our  pre-planned programs and mutual visits. However, it is obvious that  we still have a lot to do in order to utilize the untapped potential  of bilateral political, security, military, economic, business,  cultural and educational cooperation.

We express our solidarity with the Government and the people of  friendly India in completely overcoming the Covid-19. Armenia has  always supported India in the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. At the same  time, we appreciate the targeted statements of the Indian authorities  regarding the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against Artsakh, the  transfer of foreign terrorist fighters to the region, as well as the  encroachments on the Armenian borders.

From the point of promoting economic cooperation, the work of the  Armenian-Indian intergovernmental commission and the holding of  business forums in the near future is very important.

Cooperation between the two countries in the fields of information  technologies, military, defense, pharmaceuticals, agriculture,  tourism, education, culture and others also has good perspectives.

Armenia closely follows India's active involvement in the  International North-South Transport Corridor project and its interest  in developing the Chabahar port and linking it to the above-  mentioned project and is ready to be involved in the implementation  of the latter.

Armenia is grateful to the Government of India and the Indian people,  for the caring attitude towards the centuries-old Armenian community  in India and the Armenian cultural heritage. We appreciate the  implementation of a number of programs in Armenia with the support of  the Government of India in the fields of information technology,  medicine and others.

Our two peoples have a lot in common - it is first of all the human  potential - diligence, purposefulness, the inclination to creative  innovation, as well as the commitment to the protection of rich  history, cultural heritage and value system.

As the great Indian thinker and politician, Mahatma Gandhi said,  whose statue was erected in Yerevan as one of the symbols of the  friendship between our two peoples, "relations are based on the  following four principles: respect, understanding, acceptance and  gratitude." I think we have all these principles in the relations  between our countries and the peoples.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, glancing back at the development process  of the Armenian-Indian relations, we can state that Armenia and India  have established a dynamic format of interstate cooperation. We are  determined to develop this cooperation to a qualitatively new level  for the benefit of our peoples and countries."