On January 23, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan met with Stef Blok, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who is on an official visit in Armenia. At the beginning of the meeting Foreign Minister of the Netherlands handed over the official request to establish an Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Yerevan, in response to which Foreign Minister of Armenia expressed gratitude to the Dutch House of Representatives for the decision to open a diplomatic representation in Armenia.

Welcoming his counterpart, Minister Mnatsakanyan  particularly noted: “This is the first visit of the Foreign MInister of the Netherlands to Armenia. There are positive dynamics in our bilateral relations. We have a very good bilateral agenda which includes various spheres, we have a good political dialogue,  achievements in trade and economy. The purpose of this visit is to intensify our dialogue: we expect the high level visits to be consistent.

We are ready to create a platform for close cooperation between our societies, peoples in the  spheres of trade, economy, culture and science.

Working for almost two years, our Government is determined to continue the reform process based on the broad mandate given by the people through elections. Our efforts also receive international support, we have a strong commitment, a serious determination to continue this cooperation with our partners in this direction.

Your visit takes place at a time, when we witness interesting developments in the region and all over the world, which will also be a part of  our agenda. I warmly welcome you and expect a productive discussion.

Expressing gratitude for the warm reception, the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands Stef Blok highlighted: “It’s a great honour for me and pleasure to be the first Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, who visits Armenia. We are deeply interested in the developments taking place in the region and attach great importance to the progress we have witnessed during these years”. 

The Foreign Ministers commended the high-level political dialogue at different levels between Armenia and the Netherlands, highlighting the importance of further steps, including through holding consultations between the Foreign Ministries and organizing high-level mutual visits.

In the context of trade and economic cooperation, the Foreign Ministers outlined further steps to make full use of great potential, highlighting the spheres of smart education, IT, tourism, agriculture and banking as prospective directions.

Touching upon the Armenia-EU Partnership, the sides underscored the role of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement as an important tool for promoting reform processes implemented by the Government of Armenia and regulating relations with the EU member-states. In this context, Minister Mnatsakanyan underlined that the launch of visa liberalization dialogue with the EU member-states is of primary importance for Armenia.

Briefing his Dutch counterpart on the reforms process aimed at strengthening democratic institutions, the rule of law, establishing an independent judiciary, Minister Mnatsakanyan highlighted the support of the international and regional partners and the effective use of expertise.

During the meeting, the sides touched upon a number of  issues of international and regional urgency. Minister Mnatsakanyan briefed his counterpart about the recent developments of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Armenia’s principled position and approaches towards exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict.

At the end of the meeting the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands  held a joint press conference.  

Earlier on the day of the visit the delegation headed by Stef Blok visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial and paid tribute to the memory of the  innocent victims.