Press statement and answers to journalists’ questions by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, at the joint press conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia:
Hello, dear colleagues,
It is a great honor and pleasure for me to host the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, my good colleague and friend, Margus Tsahkna, and the delegation he led yesterday and today. Mr. Minister, thank you for the visit.
The contacts between the Minister and me are regular. We last met at the beginning of this year to exchange views on issues of mutual interest. At the same time, I am pleased to note that this is my colleague’s second visit to Armenia, this time on an occasion discussed during the first visit. I had the great pleasure and honor to participate in the opening of the Resident Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Yerevan. I am sure that this was a symbolic event. It reflected the readiness of Estonia and Armenia to further deepen relations between the two countries. I am grateful again for this decision.
Dear guests,
In fact, the relations between our two countries are based on our common values: freedom, democracy, human rights, peace, and I must note that we have really been able to build strong relations based on these values, and now it is really time to expand further and raise our relations to a new level, which, by and large, we also began to do with the document signed a little while ago, the Memorandum of Understanding. This is also reflected in the willingness of both of our departments.
Of course, during our contacts today and yesterday, we also touched upon the economic component of our relations. We have noted with satisfaction that the numerical indicators reflecting these economic relations are growing. Still, this is not the full potential, and we will make efforts to realize it to a greater extent.
We have pointed out the areas where we already have emerging cooperation, and we still see room for deepening and, again, potential. These are, of course, and it is no secret: digitalization, information technologies, innovation, and cybersecurity. These are areas where we both have something to learn from Estonia and, I hope, can also contribute to enriching our common experience.
I expressed my gratitude to my colleague, the Estonian government, for its support for the reforms being implemented in Armenia in the field of development cooperation.
Of course, we also spoke about the positive cooperation recorded in multilateral formats, and we emphasized the importance of ensuring its continuity. In particular, I would also like to highlight the regular contacts that Armenia has with the eight Nordic-Baltic countries, and we hope that, under the leadership of Estonia, we can further advance this agenda and these contacts in this format.
In the context of our general cooperation, of course, the dimension of Armenia-European Union relations has a special place and importance, and here too it should be noted that Estonia has shown both readiness and leadership, and we have a very reliable and trustworthy partner in the European Union, in the person of Estonia. Mr. Minister, once again, our gratitude. You know that our dedication to the values that are the basis of this cooperation is unwavering, and you can certainly rely on us to the same extent, to the same extent.
Dear colleagues,
Of course, we also discussed regional issues. We have attached importance to and expressed our gratitude to Estonia for its support for the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process. We have discussed the events unfolding in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and the problems the world is facing, and at the same time, we have tried to exchange ideas on possible solutions.
Of course, I also presented the details of the latest developments to my colleague, including the Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement, the Armenia-Turkey settlement, the lifting of the infrastructure blockade, the TRIPP project, and the ongoing work in this direction.
In conclusion, dear colleagues,
Dear friend, dear Margus, in addition to the substantive discussions, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to you personally for the sincere dialogue, your deep understanding of our challenges, your sharing of our values, and your friendship.
It should not be long before our next meeting. I will also have the honor of hosting you within the framework of the “Yerevan Dialogue”.
