Good afternoon, dear colleagues,

Dear Mr. Minister, dear friend,

I am pleased to welcome you and your delegation to Armenia. Dear colleagues, this visit was marked by the signing of a declaration of intent with my French counterpart, which envisages closer cooperation between our two ministries. This includes the deepening of political dialogue, holding regular consultations, enhancing collaboration between our diplomatic missions abroad, and cooperation on European and other global international platforms.

I would like to highlight the importance of the fact that the Minister’s visit is taking place during the days of the “Yerevan Dialogue” and within the framework of this forum – a direction in which cooperation between our ministries has already been established and further deepening of this cooperation could serve as a foundation for implementing new ideas.

I would like, of course, to touch upon the topics we had the opportunity to discuss today. First and foremost, we discussed the rich bilateral agenda between Armenia and France and the mosaic we have jointly formed, which provides a basis for assessing our relations as strategic. I can also say that our partnership delivers concrete results on the ground, such as the newly constructed Vedi reservoir.

Of course, this is not the only project through which France contributes to strengthening the resilience and economic development of the Republic of Armenia. And here, I would like, of course, to acknowledge the leadership demonstrated by Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Macron, thanks to whose partnership we are able to advance Armenia-France friendship with such great, tremendous strides. This indeed has strong foundations, rooted in historical sympathy and the friendship and affection between our peoples.

Among the other areas we discussed today, we can highlight infrastructure. We are pleased to see that French interest in the construction and development of infrastructure in Armenia is growing, and I am hopeful that in the near future, we will have many tangible and concrete developments.

The development of decentralized cooperation, in turn, is aimed at promoting the development of regions of strategic importance for Armenia and increasing their resilience, and in this context, we have emphasized the importance of holding the 5th Conference on Decentralized Cooperation. Here, too, we expect some very concrete good news in the near future.

Dear attendees, together with Minister Barrot, we also touched upon the potential for cooperation between our countries across various platforms and formats. Of course, in this context, our cooperation in the direction of deepening Armenia’s partnership with the European Union is of primary importance. I expressed gratitude to the Minister and the French side for this entire process and, in this context, for the continuous support provided to Armenia and the encouragement of Armenia’s aspirations. In this regard, beyond general statements, I should address something very specific: for example, the visa liberalization process with the European Union, which carries great expectations in Armenia and is, of course, progressing with the active support and encouragement of our French partners.

I would like to emphasize the significance of the European Political Community format. As you may recall, a summit in this format was recently held in Tirana just a few days ago, and it has now been announced that the next spring meeting will take place in Yerevan. We are highly committed to this platform and have been actively engaged in it from the very beginning. It has proven to be a highly effective framework for us. With the support of France and our other partners, we are proud to host the upcoming spring summit in this format in Yerevan, Armenia. It will be a great honor to welcome our partners.

We also attach great importance to our cooperation within the framework of the Francophonie. Armenia has its own contributions to make in this regard. A few years ago, we hosted a summit, and now we are focused on the games and youth engagement within the Francophonie framework. In general, I want to say that we are very pleased, and I am personally delighted, to see that more young people in Armenia today are eager to speak the beautiful French language. This is, of course, highly commendable.

Mr. Minister, it is also important to emphasize that we highly value, as we have in the past, France’s stance in supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the inviolability of its borders. This, of course, is a crucial foundation for building a predictable, secure environment and peace in the region.

Dear attendees, taking this opportunity, I want to state that the Republic of Armenia remains committed to the peace agenda. We now have an agreed-upon text of the Peace Treaty with Azerbaijan, and as before, we are ready, starting today, to consult and determine with Azerbaijan the location and timing of the signing of this agreement. Overall, shaping a peaceful and secure environment around us, meaning our immediate neighborhood, is one of the foreign policy priorities of Armenia. 

You are also aware that we continue the conversation to normalize relations with Türkiye, and we are fully ready to build an entirely new, peaceful, and secure region. In any case, we, the Republic of Armenia, are taking all necessary steps in this direction and are ready to continue doing so.

If we expand our discussion a little beyond the South Caucasus, I think that the very first glance at the map may allow us to assert that the South Caucasus can also play a key role in connecting Europe-Central Asia, or in bringing Europe and Central Asia closer together. Here too, the Republic of Armenia is fully ready and even has its own project, the “Crossroads of Peace”, which envisages the unblocking of transport infrastructure in the region.

Indeed, we have many topics to discuss both from the Armenian and the French side. Parliamentary cooperation plays a very important role here. I see our longtime friends from the French National Assembly sitting in these rows. 

I don’t want to overwhelm you with all the issues and all the spheres we discussed - this was merely a very brief description of what we had the opportunity to touch upon today.

Thank you for your visit, and I gladly give you the floor.