Armenia has very crucial place in context of India-Europe  relationship - Ararat Mirzoyan

ArmInfo.  On June 12, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan participated in the inaugural session of the "Raisina Mediterranean" conference in Marseille,  organized by the partners from India and France. 

Minister Mirzoyan and Foreign Minister of India Subrahmanyam  Jaishankar jointly participated in a panel discussion titled "The  Next Special Relationship: Deepening the Strategic Partnership  between the Indo- Pacific and Europe."

The questions directed to Minister Mirzoyan and his responses are  presented below.

Question: You know, when I was preparing for this panel, I happened  to be in Yerevan, and I heard the Prime Minister speak, and his  speech, which he gave in a very Steve Jobs style, with a clicker in  his hand and a presentation on the screen, was all about  connectivity. And in some sense, Minister Mirzoyan spoke about the  importance of connectivity to actually diversify and build  resilience, right? So how does Armenia, which has an Asian geography  and a European soul, I don't know how best to describe it, but maybe  this could be a good description, how does Armenia see this new  moment, where there is a thirst for connectivity, thirst for  diversification, and a role for the countries? 

Ararat Mirzoyan: Well, thank you for the question. 

First of all, my condolences to the families of those who lost their  lives in the plane crash in India, and thank you for the invitation. 

The first thing that I would like to constitute is that Armenia is  very much pleased to see that France and India have already become  strategic partners, and Europe and the Indo-Pacific very much have  mutual interest, a big interest to deepen their ties. And this sense  of satisfaction has, of course, its reasons.

The first obvious thing: we do have strategic relations with France,  and we are deepening our relations with the European Union, and we do  have strategic relations with India. We are, again, deepening our  relations very much. And the second obvious reason: when you have a  look at the map, you will see Europe, you will see India, and there  are some countries in between. So Armenia is in between. If you want  to connect France and India, and my regards to the previous speaker  and representative of the company, sҐ  is one of the routes.    Unfortunately, that's not always swift, these days not always  probably safe as well. And also, there are terrestrial routes. And  here, Armenia has a very crucial place: Armenia is situated in the  South Caucasus, which is in between Europe and India. We are  promoting connectivity projects. We are investing huge money in our  infrastructure.

Also, Armenia has four neighbors, Georgia in the north, Iran in the  south, Azerbaijan in the east, and Turkey in the west. So we have  excellent relations with two of the four countries, Georgia and Iran,  and we are trying to normalize our relations with Azerbaijan and  Turkey, with the understanding that we are going to open the borders,  have railway connection, and even if we give a very specific name to  this project, the infrastructure part, the "Crossroads of Peace". So  we are trying to create an environment of peace and prosperity around  Armenia so that everyone could benefit, not only Armenia, not only  Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia, Iran, but also the larger region.

So if you want to connect India and France, I must say you have to  pay close attention to what is in between, and there is a space and  environment there where you can have a rest, refuel, and then  continue your trip. 

Question: Minister, the broader connectivity projects today are also  looking at digital connectivity, knowledge connectivity, innovation  connectivity. Are you very impressed with the Armenia start-up  sector, the technology sector? Do you think there is now a business  case for actually looking at the hubs in Europe such as France,  Bangalore, and other hubs in India, and of course the new center of  tomorrow such as Armenia? 

Ararat Mirzoyan: Absolutely. So this is another direction where we  are investing very much. You know, there are several preconditions,  and probably the most important is that we have the human resources,  the people, the talents who are in this business, and secondly we  have electricity for data centers, for the infrastructure. This is  another interesting coincidence? two days ago we announced the  establishment of a huge AI project in Armenia with participation of  French MISTRA, NVIDIA, and several other actors, and this is only one  of the examples. So again, when you look at AI, when you look at the  IT and cooperation in these spheres, Armenia is the safe haven for  100%.

Question: Minister Mirzoyan and Dr. Jaishankar, what are some  interesting ideas for these new plurilateral groups for connectivity  that can shape the future? What are the kind of partnerships that  could really cement this new moment?

Ararat Mirzoyan: Well, during the whole conversation, there were  several expressions that I would like to pay attention to. You said  business first, everybody was speaking about disrupted supply chains,  economic benefits. But my impression is that we are missing  something. If the economic benefits are at the core of everything  that is going on in the world, then probably Europe should continue  buying gas from Russia, or oil from Russia. Then probably, on the  connectivity, the easiest, cheapest ways are the core of the things,  then probably, I'm sorry to say, India should connect with the rest  of the world, with the West, through Pakistan. So it's not going,  it's not taking place, right? There should be a reason why.

This makes, at least me, think that there is something beyond the  economic benefits. There are geopolitical interests. And here is why,  and I strongly believe in this, this is why Europe, France, wants to  get closer with India, and vice-versa, India wants to get closer with  Europe. Because, again, if we talk about economic benefits, there are  cheaper ways and more efficient ways.

If you speak about the willingness and aspiration to be a bigger  power, then there are always bigger fishes in the ocean. Let's have a  frank conversation. There is the United States, there is China, there  is Russia, they are all stronger military-wise, no? Aren't they? So,  behind this mutual aspiration to be closer to each other, I also see  some geopolitical aspiration by India and by Europe, and I see a wish  to have a stronger say in geopolitical affairs.

I'm from a third country, neither the EU, nor India, I'm Armenian,  right? Why do I want to back this aspiration? Why do I want to  support? Because I see some justification behind this aspiration: to  have stronger and more just and more fair international order.  International order is disrupted, starting from the pandemic and then  the war in Ukraine, and that's why the world went crazy, right? So,  if you want to rebuild international order, and if Europe and India  want to have a stronger say in this, then some countries like Armenia  might be wanting to support you here. If not, then it's just a wish  to have power, or having bigger power. 

This was not a direct answer to your question, but these were my  observations about our conversation. So why do you want to get  closer? Maybe you share the ideals, values? That's it. Because India  is the biggest democracy and the EU is a continent, or company or the  club of countries with the strongest democratic institutions. But we  also see that the EU countries have started hesitating, no? Is  everything ok within Europe? Are the demands justified?

Ararat Mirzoyan (closing remarks): This time I will be short. The  Armenian solution, the Armenian response, first, when it comes to  logistics, is the "Crossroads of Peace". This is our path of the  West-East or East-West or North-South passage we will take care of.  And secondly, innovation, AI, and big data centers.  I already said  that Armenia is a safe haven in that context. 

Thank you