On January 8, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to participate in the discussion of the activity report 2023 of the ministry.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan and the deputy ministers presented the works carried out, the plans and priorities for the current and next year.
A detailed reference was made to the measures, achievements, and the steps taken to overcome the challenges during 2023 caused by geopolitical and regional developments.
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Reference was made to the steps taken by the Republic of Armenia in the conditions of the blocking of the Lachin Corridor since the beginning of the year, the ethnic cleansing policy of Azerbaijan against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the military attack in September. Addressing the rights and needs of more than 100,000 Armenian population forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and cooperation with international partners in that direction were touched upon.
Reference was made to efforts and processes aimed at ensuring stability and peace in the South Caucasus.
The steps taken to strengthen cooperation with partner states at the bilateral level and the recorded results were presented to the Prime Minister. It was emphasized that the efforts of the Foreign Ministry were aimed at closer cooperation with a wide geography, both with neighboring countries and those countries with which friendly ties have already been formed, as well as with those countries with which the development of cooperation has a tangible potential, both in economic and other areas. In this context, the visits and contacts that gave new charge and content to the development of partnership at bilateral and multilateral platforms with the respective countries were mentioned. It was emphasized that the relations in various directions have been raised or are moving to a qualitatively new level, including strategic dialogue, and in that sense, the year was full of measures and activities unprecedented in their format. It was recorded that 34 high-ranking visits were made to the Republic of Armenia during the year, and 68 visits were made by Armenian high-ranking officials, 40 of which were by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Prime Minister was also presented with works and results in the field of cooperation in the areas of international peace and security, development cooperation, protection of human rights, expansion of multilateral cultural interaction, as well as promotion of Armenia’s candidacies in various structures.
Among other initiatives, the works carried out in the direction of popularization of the “Crossroads of Peace” project developed by the Armenian government, including through about 2500 publications in the international press, were also presented.
The international events planned for 2024 and the financial costs planned in this direction were also presented.
Issues related to the opening of new diplomatic and consular institutions both in the Republic of Armenia and abroad were raised.
Extensive, targeted works carried out in the direction of improving the working conditions, including the building conditions, of the central apparatus of the MFA and the bodies of the diplomatic service abroad were also presented. It was emphasized that the digitization of consular services continued within the framework of the digital agenda, as a result of which the possibility of online payments, queuing and providing relevant documents was introduced.
The importance of strengthening the capabilities of the diplomatic service was emphasized, programs for replenishing the Foreign Ministry with diplomatic personnel, as well as for the training of foreign diplomats at the Diplomatic School of the Republic of Armenia were also presented. The completed and ongoing reforms in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs system and possible steps to increase the attractiveness of the diplomatic service were touched upon. In this context, Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized that the diplomatic service has a special nature and emphasized the importance of the process of enriching the service’s potential in the medium and long term.
After the presentation of the report, an exchange of ideas took place. The future plans and tasks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in several directions were outlined.
Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized the continuous development of the diplomatic service in line with current global trends. “The highest goal of Armenia’s foreign policy is to ensure and guarantee Armenia’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity,” said the Prime Minister. Nikol Pashinyan also emphasized the need to maximize the use of the economic component of foreign policy and gave instructions to those in-charge.
INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA