On July 7, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan received Permanent Under Secretary of the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office Sir Simon McDonald.

Welcoming the guest, Minister Mnatsakanyan noted with satisfaction that recently the Armenian-British relations became more active, which is reflected also in the intensification of high-ranking reciprocal visits. Minister Mnatsakanyan reaffirmed Armenia's commitment to continue and expand the dialogue between the two countries in order to achieve more tangible results.

Expressing gratitude for the reception, Permanent Under Secretary McDonald noted that it is a great time to be in Armenia to get a first-hand information about the developments in the country, as well as to discuss ways to expand the Armenian-British agenda.

The Foreign Minister briefed his interlocutor on recent internal political developments in Armenia, underlining the commitment of the new government to implement continuous reforms and highlighting the importance of the support of Armenia's partners to the reform process.

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Simon McDonald have touched upon the Armenia-EU partnership and the importance of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. In this regard Minister Mnatsakanyan expressed hope that the UK will soon ratify the agreement too.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the Permanent Under Secretary of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office have also touched upon urgent international and regional issues, exchanged views on the situation in Syria and recent developments around Iran's nuclear programme.

Within the framework of the visit to Armenia, the Permanent  Under Secretary of the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office Simon McDonald delivered a lecture to the students of the Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.