MEDIA RELEASE by the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia Urška Klakočar Zupančič
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would first like to thank the President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan for the invitation to pay an official visit to your beautiful country, renowned for its rich historical and cultural heritage.
Earlier this day I visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial Centre dedicated to the memory of the heinous crimes perpetrated on the Armenian people by the executioners of the Ottoman Empire, which, I should say, has left me deeply shaken.
Read also
Slovenia highly values the good and friendly relations with Armenia and is eager to further strengthen these ties, particularly through inter-parliamentary cooperation. President Simonyan and I both share this sentiment and I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet with him today and embrace cooperation at the highest parliamentary level.
I am also pleased that friendship groups have been re-established in both Parliaments in the current parliamentary term. These groups play a pivotal role in fostering bilateral relations, which is why I am accompanied by this official visit by the Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Armenia Mr. Dean Premik.
A significant framework for deepening the relations and consolidating political dialogue between Armenia and the European Union is the Partnership Cooperation Agreement. This Agreement is important for strengthening cooperation across various domains, including facilitating mobility between the European Union and Armenia, which is particularly valuable for Armenian citizens.
Slovenia and Armenia are both members or partners in several major international organisations, including the United Nations. As you may know, Slovenia has submitted its candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the period 2024-2025. In this context, I express my sincere hope that Armenia will endorse and support our candidacy in the upcoming elections on 6 June.
Within the UN, Slovenia and Armenia share many common objectives in areas such as peace and security, promotion of effective multilateralism, environmental issues, and human rights. As I emphasized during my meeting with President Simonyan, if elected as a non-permanent member, Slovenia will proactively engage with each member individually to seek solutions to international crises through dialogue and close cooperation.
I would like to stress that we closely monitor the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. In this regard, we welcome the European Union’s sustained presence in the region and express our support for the deployment of a new EU Civilian Mission in Armenia. We believe that this mission will contribute to the security of the population, foster regional stability, and build trust among the parties involved.
President Simonyan, I once again extend my heartfelt appreciation for your warm welcome. I am confident that our meeting will further deepen the already positive relations between our countries, and I very much look forward to meeting the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister.
National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia
