Armenian, Bahraini FMs discuss South Caucasus, Middle East 

ArmInfo. On November 19, in Manama, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a  meeting with Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, the  Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

During the meeting, issues of the bilateral agenda were discussed.  Both sides emphasized their willingness to develop cooperation in  various fields, noting the importance of periodic consultations  between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries, the formation of  the necessary legal framework, the organization of joint events and  high-level visits.  Ararat Mirzoyan pointed to trade and economic,  civil aviation, tourism, information technologies as prospective  areas of bilateral relations, stressing the need to take measures to  attract investment.

Minister Mirzoyan emphasized that economic development in the region  presupposes a stable and secure environment and it was in this  context that he presented the "Crossroads of Peace" program developed  by the Government of the Republic of Armenia. Noting that Armenia  attaches importance to the deepening of mutually beneficial relations  with the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, the Foreign Minister of  Armenia expressed hope that the program will be attractive also for  Middle Eastern countries, including Bahrain.  Both sides welcomed the  vision of advancing the peace agenda through similar programs.

The latest developments in the South Caucasus and the Middle East  were also on the agenda of the meeting.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia briefed  his Bahraini  counterpart on the current  security situation in the South Caucasus,  as well as Armenia's approaches to establishing lasting peace and  stability in the region. Ararat Mirzoyan spoke about the ethnic  cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan, the existing problems,  stressing that they also don't make the path for peace in the South  Caucasus easy.  Confirming Armenia's commitment, in the context of  normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ararat  Mirzoyan emphasized the importance of expressing firm commitment by  Azerbaijan on the issues of mutual recognition of territorial  integrity, without any ambiguity, delimitation of borders based on  the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991 and the latest fresh maps of the  USSR, as well as unblocking regional communications under the  sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries.