On November 17, the Informal meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Eastern Partnership countries took place in Yerevan. Johannes Hahn, the EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiation, Jean-Christophe Belliard, Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs – Political Director for EEAS, as well as high-ranking delegations from EaP countries participated in the meeting.
In his opening remarks Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, said, “Today is the second time we are hosting a meeting in this format in Armenia, whereas the previous one was held in September of 2013. Armenia attaches importance to its involvement within the framework of Eastern Partnership program, and today’s meeting in Yerevan is another proof of that.
In our discussions, we will have an opportunity to focus on the developments and achievements in the Eastern Partnership since Riga and also present our expectations from the next summit in 2017.”
In his speech Edward Nalbandian also highlighted the sectoral dialogue, particularly, in the field of research and innovation. Describing that field as a priority area, the Foreign Minister of Armenia emphasised that the sustainable economic development of EaP member states depends also on the quality of research and innovation strategies and the efficiency of their implementation.
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Referring tothe Armenia – European Union relations, Minister Nalbandian said, “Throughout the last two years, Armenia has been focusing on the implementation of the provisions of the Riga Declaration. In the case of Armenia I can say that during the past year we have reached visible results: six rounds of negotiations over the new framework agreement between Armenia and the European Union took place, and the sides were able to make significant progress. We have joined a number of EU programs, such as COSME program for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, research and innovation program Horizon 2020. The process of joining the Creative Europe Initiative has been launched, which will provide an opportunity to expand the framework of cultural exchanges. We expect that the negotiations on joining the Common Aviation Area Agreement will start in the near future, we are also hopeful to start the dialogue on the liberalization of visa regimes soon.
I would like to inform that we have started the consultations on the priorities of partnership between Armenia and the European Union for 2017-2020.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank once again the European Union for its continued support, which has been instrumental for the effective implementation of the reform process and institutional capacity building.”
At the meeting, Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiation, Jean-Christophe Belliard,Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs – Political Director for EEAS, delivered opening and closing remarks. They highlighted the importance of regular meetings within this format to know the stance of partner countries, the issues of their concern, as well as to find joint solutions to those issues.
The participants of the Ministerial meeting had effective discussions on all areas vital for the cooperation within the framework of Eastern Partnership, touched upon the results of the Riga Summit of the Eastern Partnership. The speakers attached importance to the guidelines for the development of relations between the EU and partner countries, enshrined in the Riga Declaration.
The participants shared the view that ahead of Eastern Partnership Summit in 2017, Ministerial discussions on foreign affairs, science and innovations will have their positive impact on the further strengthening of cooperation between the EU and partner countries.
The Heads of delegations, EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, Deputy Secretary General for EEAS Jean-Christophe Belliard, hold a press conference on the outcomes of the meeting.