Tuesday, June 11 2024 12:22

ArmInfo.At the start of the Capstone meeting of the Armenia-US Strategic Dialogue, the Minister  of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia gave opening remarks:

"Assistant Secretary O'Brien,

Dear colleagues, 

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you and the whole US  delegation here in Yerevan, to hold the 2nd Capstone Meeting of the  Armenia-U.S. Strategic Dialogue.

Today's meeting is yet another expression of high-level political  dialogue between our two countries that will give another impetus to  the evolving partnership between Armenia and the United States.

The strong commitment to democratic principles is at the very core of  our partnership. Despite the fact that democracy is threatened  globally, including in our region, despite the security challenges  and emerging hybrid threats, the Government of Armenia is decisive to  follow the democratic choice of its people, to strengthen the  relevant state institutions to ensure the rule of law and strong  protection for human rights. In this context, our active  participation in the Summit for Democracy in recent years is one of  the vivid manifestations of Armenia's commitment and engagement  towards building a more robust democracy, resilient enough to face  and overcome all these difficulties. I do believe that our  like-minded partners and namely the USA fully support and stand with  us to prove that democracies are capable of delivering. 

And here, in order to succeed, we should be deepening  multidimensional and multisectoral cooperation, including but not  limited to economy and energy, defense and security, high  technologies and cyber security, justice and the rule of law. The  bilateral agenda continues to expand and include dimensions critical  for the resilience and sustainable development of Armenia. In this  context, I want to recall the high- level Armenia-US-EU meeting held  on the 5th of April, 2024 in Brussels and the arrangements indicated  in the joint press statement.

We also believe that our enhanced partnership, along with the  continued U.S. support for the sovereignty, independence, and  territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, holds the potential  to contribute to the establishment of durable and dignified peace in  the South Caucasus.

In this context, I want to reiterate that Armenia remains strongly  committed to the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan and  border delimitation based on the mutual recognition of territorial  integrity in accordance with the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. We  believe there is a real opportunity, a historical momentum to  finalize the draft peace treaty, the signing of which could open the  door for lasting peace in the region. 

As part of the peace agenda and vision for regional development,  Armenia is also strongly interested in unblocking all regional  communications based on full respect for countries' sovereignty and  jurisdiction and the principles of equality and reciprocity, as  underpinned by our Government's initiative of "Crossroads of Peace".

Dear colleagues,

Coming to the agenda of today's meeting, we have a wide array of  concrete steps and plans to discuss ranging from economic and energy  diversification to defense and justice reforms. We have been  efficient in utilizing three working groups under the auspices of  Armenia-US Strategic Dialogue and holding relevant meetings in 2023.  Considering the growing nature and dynamics of bilateral relations,  we are hopeful to upgrade our Strategic Dialogue to a Strategic  Partnership Commission that could further enhance the structured  approach to our multifaceted cooperation.

On sectoral cooperation:

With the participation of our relevant agencies, we will have a  chance to review growing economic cooperation, including in the  framework of the Armenia-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement  and further trade liberalization, that could bring more prosperity,  development and opportunities for the Armenian economy and make it  more resilient. I believe there are additional mechanisms and  effective tools to support economic diversification and we will  discuss how to make the best use of them.

Given the current challenges, energy diversification is also an  important part of our agenda, and we will review the work already  done and look into perspectives, including in the fields of nuclear  energy and renewables. 

In defense cooperation: it is with satisfaction that I note the  holding of the Eagle Partner exercise in 2023.  We are interested in  further exploring possibilities for cooperation for Armenia's defense  transformation.

I would also like to stress justice and public sector reforms and  Armenia's commitment to strengthen democratic institutions, aimed at  building a stronger, more secure, and advanced environment for our  citizens. We have made significant progress, the results are tangible  and visible. 

Dear colleagues, 

These are our today's main priorities while the interest to enhance  our cooperation goes beyond the sectors I mentioned. We have a  comprehensive agenda before us, and I look forward to a fruitful and  productive session. I am confident that our discussions today will  further solidify our partnership and advance our shared vision of a  democratic, peaceful, and prosperous future."