On November 15, in Brussels, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with Hadja Lahbib, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions of the Kingdom of Belgium.
As a continuation of the discussions held in August during the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium to Yerevan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Hadja Lahbib thoroughly touched upon the issues on bilateral agenda, the enhancement of the Armenia-EU partnership as well as regional topics.
The interlocutors commended the high-level political dialogue between the two countries, the opening of the resident Embassy of Belgium in Yerevan and exchanged views on deepening cooperation in trade and economy, information technologies, culture, people-to-people contacts and other fields.
Both sides emphasised the importance of the steps aimed at deepening the Armenia-EU partnership, giving a positive assessment of the existing results and planned programs.
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The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Belgium also discussed recent developments related to regional security.
Touching upon Armenia’s vision of establishing peace and security in the South Caucasus, Minister Mirzoyan emphasised the importance of strong support from international partners to the principles of the statement adopted following the quadrilateral meeting of the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President of the European Council, the President of France and the Chancellor of Germany in October in Granada.
Minister Mirzoyan presented the “Crossroads of Peace” project developed by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, pointing out to the opportunities outlined by this program for the countries of the region and beyond. Armenia’s interest in unblocking regional communications under sovereignty and jurisdiction, on the principles of reciprocity and equality was emphasised.
Ararat Mirzoyan briefed his Belgian counterpart on the measures taken by the Government of the Republic of Armenia for the proper reception of more than 100.000 forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan. He underlined the importance of the assistance of international partners in addressing the needs and rights of Armenian refugees. The need for the involvement of international bodies in the protection of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh was emphasised.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Government
