Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Greek government with his wife Anna Hakobyan, where they were welcomed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis.
First, a private conversation between Nikol Pashinyan and Kyriakos Mitsotakis took place. The meeting of Anna Hakobyan and Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis was also held separately, followed by their visit to the Armenian “Kalfayan” Galleries in Athens, where they got acquainted with the presented exhibits.
After the private conversation, the Prime Ministers of Armenia and Greece made statements to the media representatives.
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In his speech, the Prime Minister of Greece specifically stated:
“Dear Nikol,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is with great joy that I am hosting the friendly Prime Minister of Armenia here in Athens today. This is a visit that is an important step for even further strengthening the excellent relations between the two countries, Greece and Armenia. These are relations that come from the depths of centuries, but can be even more effective in the context of the new common challenge that is facing us, especially at this moment, when Armenia, with the support of the European Union, is forming clear and transparent institutions that will allow attracting investments.
We also had the opportunity to discuss our bilateral cooperation in such areas as renewable energy as well as modern technologies. This is a deepening and developing partnership. And in that logic, a memorandum of understanding was also signed between Enterprise Greece and Enterprise Armenia.
We also support defense cooperation, and we signed a special agreement in December 2023. We are discussing with Mr. Prime Minister how we can further strengthen our trade and economic relations.
We also discussed the developments in the region, noting that we have shared approaches here. And both countries clearly oppose the threat or use of force. We are always on the side of international law, we are dedicated to the principles of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of each country. We consider that disagreemens should be resolved only peacefully, and Armenia understands and realizes the price of peace very well. The decisions you have to make, dear Nikol, will actually shape the future of the country for years to come.
I listened with great interest to your idea, your approaches, how you see things and take steps in the newly emerging strategic environment. We also had the opportunity to discuss the format for easing the lives of more than 100,000 people of Nagorno-Karabakh and I want to assure you that Greece will always be by your side from a diplomatic point of view to form and achieve a peace agreement with Azerbaijan, because only a stable agreement between Yerevan and Baku is able to pave the way for a better future in the South Caucasus.
That is why Greece also supports the “Crossroads of Peace” initiative, which you presented to us, aimed at transforming the region from a theater of conflicts into a commercial hub, connecting the Black Sea countries, the Persian Gulf countries, the Mediterranean countries, because only common prosperity can silence the weapons, because only the progress of peoples can thwart the plans of despotic leaders.
We also discussed the reforms taking place in Armenia, which clearly show your direction as a country of the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance, we are ready to contribute with our knowledge, experience, and abilities to form a new liberal democracy. Just as we have been by the side of historical Armenia, we will be there now to protect the great cultural Armenian heritage in areas such as Nagorno Karabakh. As you know, Greece pays great attention to the protection of cultural heritage and takes active steps, especially within the framework of the UNESCO.
There are also prerequisites for signing a bilateral cooperation agreement in the field of migration and labor in the near future. Our friendly country has labor force, skills that can serve in the labor market.
That is why, dear Nikol, I want to thank you for being here today in Athens, but at the same time, in the person of you, I want to express my respect to the big Armenian community in Greece, to all those who have been acting for years as an example of harmonious coexistence, bringing their contribution to Greek society. It is quite an active and very important link connecting our friendship and cooperation, which will further strengthen and bring our countries and our peoples even closer.
Once again, dear Nikol, welcome and thank you.”
In turn, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted.
“Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, dear Kyriakos,
This is a really important visit for us to discuss the Armenia-Greece bilateral agenda, as well as the further deepening of Armenia’s relations with the European Union. But first, I want to emphasize my respect for the Armenian community in Greece and the Greek community in Armenia, because we also have a visible Greek community in Armenia, which has a very important role in the life of our country, our state, economy, and public life. And this, I think, is the expression of the deep historical ties that our countries, our peoples have with each other.
Of course, I am also happy to note that our interstate relations are also developing at a fairly good pace, and with the results of today’s visit, we will, of course, give a new impetus to bilateral relations, in the field of economy, in the field of culture, in the field of education, of course you mentioned the security field as well. We have a long history of cooperation in the field of defense, and I am sure that our cooperation will become more effective.
I want to emphasize that the fact that our two countries attach key importance to reforms, in general, and democratic reforms, in particular, also plays a primary role in our relations. And this creates a very important value base for the development of our relations, not only with Greece, but also with the European Union in general. I also want to thank Greece for its support and willingness to further support the development of our relations with the European Union. You are aware that the European Union is one of the main partners of Armenia’s democratic reform agenda. And in this context, our cooperation has already shown its results, and I am sure that there will be more visible results in the near future. I would also like to emphasize Greece’s participation in the European Union civil mission in Armenia, which monitors the border of the Republic of Armenia with Azerbaijan. Greece’s participation here is very valuable and important.
Of course, we also discussed our regional situation, we had a special reference to the process of meeting the humanitarian needs of more than 100 thousand Armenians displaced from Nagorno Karabakh as a result of ethnic cleansing. I informed the Prime Minister about the measures we have already taken, but I also said that we are now in the process of making decisions about long-term plans and it is important that if our compatriots do not have a realistic chance of returning to Nagorno-Karabakh, it is our policy to do everything for them to stay in the Republic of Armenia. Today we also discussed issues related to this situation.
Of course, the regional situation, the international situation was one of the important topics of our discussions. I told Prime Minister Mitsotakis about our efforts to achieve peace with Azerbaijan, I also told about the existing problems and where we have reached, and the obstacles for ensuring further progress. Of course, you are aware that another meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan is expected in the near future, and we should hope that it will be possible to make progress during that meeting.
In fact, our bilateral relations are multi-layered, and we are happy to report that there is quite good economic growth and economic dynamics in both Armenia and Greece. This is a good opportunity to take steps to deepen our bilateral economic relations and to increase and change their scale. Unfortunately, despite our warm, friendly, political relations, bilateral trade is not particularly impressive, and certainly this should be one of the issues on the agenda of our governments. I hope that in the near future we will convene a meeting of the intergovernmental cooperation committee, there is such a preliminary perception that it will take place in Yerevan in the summer and we will have the opportunity to discuss these issues more extensively and in detail.
Mr. Prime Minister, let me once again thank you for the warm welcome and sincere conversation.”
Next, the discussions continued in an expanded format. In particular, issues related to the expansion of trade and economic ties, implementation of investment programs were discussed. An agreement was reached to hold a joint business forum in Armenia.
The Prime Minister referred to the “Crossroads of Peace” project of the Armenian government and its principles, as well as the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process. The sides exchanged thoughts on Armenia-European Union cooperation.
INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA