On June 7, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Zhang Ming who was in Armenia for an official visit. The tête-à-tête meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the Secretary General of SCO was followed by the meeting in an enlarged format.

The sides noted with satisfaction that this is the first visit on the level of the Secretary-General to Armenia expressing hope that the discussions during the visit will contribute to the expansion of opportunities for cooperation between Armenia and SCO.

Minister Mirzoyan emphasized that Armenia attaches great importance to the principles that form the basis for the SCO activities: sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, non-use of force or threat of use of force. “Peace, security, and economic development: this is what Armenia aims to bring to life in our region, and I must note with satisfaction that the core principles and our vision of peace coincide with the key approach of the SCO",- Ararat Mirzoyan added.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the Secretary-General of SCO exchanged views on the economic and transport communications, and on issues of development of the logistics network. Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the fact that the "Crossroads of Peace" initiative developed by the Government of Armenia, with its goals and promising opportunities, can be an important component of the trade-economic cooperation and transport connectivity agenda within the framework of the SCO.

Touching upon the security environment in the South Caucasus, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia presented to the interlocutor the latest developments in the process of normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, including the vision of the Republic of Armenia and efforts towards the signing of the peace treaty.