Monday, July 4 2022 15:33

ArmInfo.Comprehensive deepening and development of the relations with India is one of the foreign policy priorities of Armenia. RA Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan  stated this at the opening of the 8th session of the Armenian-Indian  intergovernmental commission for cooperation in the fields of trade,  economy, technology, science, education and culture in Yerevan.  

As the press service of the RA MFA reports, the full text of  Mirzoyan's remarks reads, in part:  

"Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, I warmly  welcome all the  participants of the 8th session of the Armenian-Indian  Intergovernmental Commission.  Dear Colleagues, Comprehensive  deepening and development of the relations with India is one of the  foreign policy priorities of Armenia. In this regard, it is  gratifying to see that India with its vital democracy and dynamic  economy is making significant achievements in many fields today,  which contributes to the promotion of India's reputation in the world  arena. Armenia also highly appreciates the stabilising activities of  India in these tumultuous global times. 

I must commend that traditional warm relations and mutual support  between our peoples, which derive from the depths of the centuries,  continuously strengthen, and the interstate ties - expand and deepen.  This year is also symbolic for the relations between our two  countries; we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the  establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and India.  

It should be noted that although the last session of the  Armenian-Indian Intergovernmental Commission was held a long time  ago, however, especially recently we have implemented a lot of work  for the development of our bilateral relations and cooperation.  High-level mutual visits have been held, and there is active  cooperation within the framework of international structures, also  business forums and meetings have been organised in both countries.  

Our meeting with Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar last year in  Dushanbe gave a new impetus to our cooperation. Then, in the fall of  last year, Foreign Minister Jaishankar made a very important visit to  Armenia, and during that visit, an ambitious roadmap for cooperation  was elaborated, which we are purposefully implementing. Finally, in  April of this year, the Armenian delegation participated in the  "Raisina Dialogue'' conference, within the framework of which I also  held meetings with the leadership of India. Those meetings provided a  good opportunity to continue our dialogue. We highlighted the fact  that during our visit in April, we went to India with a rather  serious economic agenda, organising business forums in New Delhi and  Mumbai and thus significantly promoting business to business contacts  between our countries.  I must commend that the volumes of  Armenia-India trade turnover have increased dramatically in recent  years: thus, in 2021 it was 181 million US dollars compared to about  21 million US dollars in 2016. Indeed, these figures do not reflect  the full potential of our bilateral trade and economic cooperation  yet, and we expect a drastic increase in trade turnover volumes in  the coming years.  I think our Indian partners will agree that we  have work to do towards the development of our cooperation in the  fields of information technology and communication, pharmaceuticals,  science, education.

I would also like to mention that defence and military-technical  fields, agriculture, transport, civil aviation, tourism and  healthcare have great potential and are extremely promising for our  two countries.  The ongoing discussions in these directions will turn  into practical agreements and into new opportunities for our  governments and businessmen.  I would also like to highlight the  assistance of the Indian Government for the implementation of  development programs in Armenia. Among them, I would like to  specifically emphasize the technical assistance provided by India in  the field of high and information technologies, particularly, the  creation of the education of young professionals and schoolchildren.   This support surely contributes to the education of young  professionals and schoolchildren in Armenia.  

We also cooperate effectively in the field of territorial  development. In this regard, we welcome the signing of the Memorandum  of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Armenia  and the Government of the Republic of India regarding Indian Grant  Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development  Projects, which will take place at the end of our session.  I would  also like to emphasise the humanitarian dimension. It includes both  educational and cultural programs. About 2,200 Indian students study  in Armenia, mostly in medical professions, and here, we have already  discussed opportunities to improve and expand student exchange  programs as well.  Cultural cooperation is also of great importance  for the strengthening of ties between the two friendly peoples. We  have a rich cultural heritage in India under state care, for which we  are grateful to the Government of India. We are also working on the  implementation of Armenian- Indian cultural exchange programs, on  presentation of magnificent examples of Indian culture, particularly,  replicas of the frescoes of Ajanta caves in Armenia, as well as  implementation of joint projects in the field of cinema.  

I am sure that during this session we will have the opportunity to  discuss a wide range of issues on Armenian-Indian cooperation and to  outline new directions for the development of our cooperation.  To  conclude, I once again welcome all of you and wish us fruitful work.   Thank you!>, the RA FM concluded.