Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the 3rd International Conference on the “Yerevan Dialogue”. The conference was attended by President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan, Speaker of the National Assembly Alain Simonyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan, high-ranking foreign guests, members of the Government, and representatives of the legislative body.
The Prime Minister delivered a speech in which he, in particular, touched upon the Government of the Republic of Armenia’s projects “Crossroads of Peace” and “Trump’s Path for International Peace and Prosperity”.
“Honorable President of the French Republic, Mr. Emmanuel Macron,
Honorable President of the Republic of Armenia,
Dear colleagues,
I am glad for this opportunity and thank you for your presence. I want to present to you what has happened with the Republic of Armenia in recent years, if we may say so, during the existence of the “Yerevan Dialogue” conference.
Something essential has happened, which may even seem incredible: the Republic of Armenia’s geographical position has changed. We now have a completely different geographic position than we did just a few years ago, and I want to say that, understandably, the Republic of Armenia is in the same place it was before. This is the whole meaning and subtlety: that, by being in the same place, we now have a completely different geographical position than we had before. But to accurately describe today’s geographical position to you, I want to talk about what the average statistical perception of geographical position was in the past, which, by the way, was widespread both among us and in foreign perceptions of us.
Previously, it was noted that the Republic of Armenia has a very complex and problematic geographical position, as it is located in a problematic region with a problematic neighborhood and, consequently, faces existential risks arising from that neighborhood. Perhaps it was this perception, by the way, the genesis of which still needs to be discussed and thought about, that guided our state, our consciousness, all our actions, decisions, perceptions about ourselves and the world. Today, I can record this: a truly historical event has taken place, in that the brief description of the Republic of Armenia’s geographical position is no longer that it is located in a problematic region. Still, the description of the Republic of Armenia’s geographical position is that it lies along the shortest route connecting the East to the West and vice versa. And this perception brings with it a completely new picture of the Republic of Armenia, its condition, and its potential.
Today, the task of the Government of the Republic of Armenia is to approach issues from this perspective and to build the Republic of Armenia’s strategies on this perspective. In order to describe these strategies, we have adopted and are implementing two interrelated projects.
The first is the “Crossroads of Peace” project, and the second is the TRIPP project, “Trump’s Way for International Peace and Prosperity.” The “Trump’s Way for International Peace and Prosperity” project, in our perception, first and foremost involves the restoration of railway communication between the East and the West. Of course, when it comes to the railway, the railway, first of all, assumes certain conditions, including geographical and topographical conditions. It is obvious that we have one main route at this stage, and it is the route passing through the south of Armenia, along which we imagine the process of connecting the East with the West, and we continue like this. But the railway is not the only direction of the TRIPP project. That status is changing as follows: I think this is a phrase, a sentence that can become the investment brand of the Republic of Armenia, and that sentence is the following: “The shortest route between the East and the West,” because now, in the modern world, the problem, as you know, is not only the security of the flow of goods and services, but also the speed of that transportation, and the shortest route means the fastest route. Our problem is finding the cheapest and most efficient route, because now we also need to make this determination: companies compete, including on the speed of delivering goods, and the fastest is perhaps also the most successful.
However, speed is not the only guarantee of success. Our problem is to realize our potential. This is a very important determination. Significant turning points have occurred in our reality, because, for example, just a few years ago, when talking about the Republic of Armenia, it was said, one could say, and this was our general perception, that the Republic of Armenia, for example, is a country without energy resources, and that was true. AND this expression showed Armenia’s vulnerability in energy and other aspects. Although nothing has changed, within the Republic of Armenia’s parameters, it is a country with unlimited energy resources. This is the most interesting circumstance of our time: a country can be under the same coordinates, yet its position has changed. Can a country turn from one without energy resources into one with unlimited energy resources and transform? No, I am not keeping anything secret. No oil or gas deposits have been discovered in Armenia, and the Republic of Armenia, like many other countries, has unlimited energy potential due to the development of solar energy. Our task is to focus on this issue in the near future to leverage the Republic of Armenia’s unlimited potential, including in the energy sector.
Of course, I said that there have been no geographical or resource changes around the Republic of Armenia at all. Still, one thing has certainly changed significantly: today, the Republic of Armenia lives in conditions of peace, and peace has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is the turning point, because why did we not notice before that we have a magnificent geographical position? It is the absence of peace or conflict that has closed our field of vision, and we have not noticed what is clearly before our eyes.
And I want to emphasize this, once again express my appreciation to the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, whose role in the peace established today is pivotal, because the architecture whose presence we are talking about today was finally recorded on October 6, 2022, in Prague, as a result of the quadrilateral meeting initiated by President Macron and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, when Armenia and Azerbaijan recognized each other’s territorial integrity, in essence, based on the Alma-Ata Declaration, mutually recognizing each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and agreeing that the Alma-Ata Declaration will be the basis for the demarcation of the borders of the two countries. This is a turning point, and President Macron’s personal contribution to it is difficult to overestimate.
And distinguished guests, distinguished colleagues,
My conclusion from all this, specifically using the example of the Republic of Armenia, is that by changing the physical, visible, or concrete parameters of circumstances, we can achieve much greater changes than we initially thought possible. And today, I am happy to report that, as a result of all this, the Republic of Armenia has replaced the survival agenda with a development agenda. Because what was previously considered an existential threat to us, we are today turning that threat, I mean the geographical location, into an exceptional advantage, making the Republic of Armenia attractive for investment. Today, by the way, the European Union adopted a statement calling on international investors to invest in the Republic of Armenia. And this is an important record that peace in the Republic of Armenia is not only established but also has international credibility, and that international institutions are inviting investors to make these investments in the Republic of Armenia, which are already underway.
I want to emphasize that within the framework of the TRIPP project and also within the framework of the “Crossroads of Peace” project, power lines are assumed, pipelines, oil pipelines, gas pipelines are assumed, which are not necessarily to pass along the route I mentioned, throughout the entire territory of the Republic of Armenia, due to numerous engineering and technical nuances, all these projects can be implemented.
Now we are focused on this very issue to realize the potential hidden in just one sentence. In general, there is a lot of talk about countries’ investment interests. Still, as a result of these recent discussions, I have noted that the Republic of Armenia is already in a geographical position, and, of course, all this in the conditions of peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan with the support of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, when the investment environment of Armenia and the investment status of Armenia are changing significantly. And therefore, I think our example is a very important example of how a country, without discovering new mines, can turn from a country with zero energy resources into a country with unlimited energy resources, how a country can replace a desperate geographical position with a hopeful geographical position, which, in fact, will be of key importance for the stability, peace, development and security of the country, because the security factor is also very important here. The project that we are presenting and that I am talking about, which is becoming a reliable north-south, east-west road, is also a reliable security factor. Because when we become, and we are already becoming such a country today, in its region, in its environment, with its neighborhood, because this is also very important, because to say that the shortest route from East to West passes through the Republic of Armenia, it means to say that the shortest route from East to West passes through Azerbaijan, the shortest route from East to West passes through Turkey. Because the shortest path from East to West cannot pass through Armenia, but must pass through Azerbaijan, and cannot pass through Turkey.
And this is precisely the change in perception, that we, as is commonly said, see the borders of our country not only and not so much with a dividing meaning, because the border, nevertheless, has a dividing property, separates countries from each other, but we see the borders, including with the property of connecting, uniting, when the countries of our region will be able to respect each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, inviolability of borders and jurisdiction, to establish such cooperation that peace will not only be beneficial to everyone, but peace will also be vital for everyone. And peace will become the main guarantee that it provides and still is, provides investments, provides income, ensures stability, and peace becomes a tool for self-reproduction, because peace always needs to be recharged. And this is, in fact, a circle where peace brings prosperity, prosperity brings peace, peace brings greater prosperity, greater prosperity brings greater peace, more reliable peace. And I am happy to note that we are going down that path.
There is no doubt that we are going down that path, and it is a reliable path. It is a path that helps us move from a desperate to a reliable geographical position, from an unfavorable to a favorable position, and from international and regional isolation to international and regional integration and cooperation.
And I want to end my speech with this very message and congratulate all the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, first of all, on the change in the Republic of Armenia’s geographical position.
Thank you very much.
