Prior to the high-level joint meeting of the Armenia-EU-USA in Brussels, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Josep Borrell made statements.
In his speech, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted.
”Dear President Von der Leyen,
Dear Secretary Blinken,
High representative Borel
Dear friends,
Thank you for convening this high-level meeting to reaffirm our collective commitment to sovereign, resilient, and prosperous Armenia. This event underscores Armenia’s commitment to our shared values and the pursuit of more accountable and citizen-centred public institutions that deliver to its people.
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Today’s high-level dialogue signifies Armenia’s expanding partnership with the United States and the European Union.
Despite facing multiple criseses, Armenia has made significant progress toward ensuring democracy. Expanding on the achieved progress, we will discuss Armenia’s efforts to strengthen the resilience of its democratic institutions. We firmly believe that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms underpin our cooperation. The Republic of Armenia reaffirms its commitment to advancing justice and public sector reforms to build a stronger, more secure, and advanced country.
Building on our fruitful political cooperation, it is high time we foster our economic collaboration, promote trade and look into expanding our partnership in mobility. We are determined to enhance the competitiveness of the Armenian private sector to expand to new markets. Further, we stand ready to improve our investment climate and make it more appealing to European and American companies. We expect our partners to assist us in modernizing Armenia’s quality infrastructure, bridge business networks, and explore potential trade facilitation schemes.
Promoting socio-economic inclusion and addressing the short and long-term needs of more than 100,000 forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh is also of paramount importance. Our collective efforts should focus on empowering refugees to rebuild their lives with dignity through housing and economic activation policies.
I want to stress that we remain committed to the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan based on mutual recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in accordance with the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991. Armenia is also fully committed to the delimitation of borders based on the Alma-Ata Declaration and unblocking all regional communications based on full respect for countries’ sovereignty and jurisdiction and the principles of equality and reciprocity.
To achieve this objective, we have introduced the Crossroads of Peace Initiative, which aims to promote connectivity and dialogue with neighbouring countries and beyond. To enhance synergies in the wider region, we seek to integrate our initiative with the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy and expect the support of our partners in this regard.
Madam President,
Secretary Blinken,
High representative Borel
I believe that our shared vision of a democratic, peaceful, and prosperous future will continue to serve as the backbone and the guiding star of our mutually trusted relations.
Once again, thank you for fostering this dialogue and for your continued support to the Republic of Armenia”.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that the EU promised to stand shoulder to shoulder with Armenia and today that promise is being fulfilled. “The vision of partnership with Armenia will be realized through the program to contribute to Armenia’s resilience. We will invest in making the Armenian economy and society more robust and resistant to shocks.” said the President of the European Commission, pointing out the 270 million euro grant, which will help especially small and medium-sized companies.
According to von der Leyen, the EU will invest especially in infrastructure projects in Armenia, particularly in the Black Sea electric cable project, as well as in the production of renewable energy.
Ursula von der Leyen saluted the “Crossroads of Peace” project of the Armenian government and noted that the EU will also explore cross-border transport when conditions allow.
The President of the European Commission spoke about the new support package, the European Economic and Investment Plan for Armenia. “It has already mobilized half a billion euros for investments. This is great news and we can do more. That’s why we recently launched the Investment Coordination Platform to be able to identify new projects and speed up implementation,” Von der Leyen said.
The President of the European Commission welcomed Armenia’s efforts towards democratic reforms despite the challenges faced by the country and reaffirmed that the EU will continue to support the ongoing reforms through advice, technical support and funding.
Ursula Von der Leyen added that they do not forget about the plight of displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh. “The humanitarian situation of refugees in Armenia remains a priority. We have provided more than 30 million euros to support them and we are ready to do more,” said President von der Leyen, expressing pleasure that they can count on the United States as a committed and like-minded partner in this effort.
“We will continue to work all together for the future of Armenia, in a stable and prosperous South Caucasus region,” concluded the President of the European Commission.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Josep Borrell noted that the European Union wants to develop a positive agenda for Armenia and, by combining forces with the United States, show its strong commitment to Armenia’s sovereignty, democracy and resilience.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the US supports the “Crossroads of Peace” project initiated by the Republic of Armenia.
“We support the ideas, Mr. Prime Minister, that are at the heart of your “Crossroads of Peace” proposal. We see a more integrated South Caucasus with more transportation routes, energy cooperation, telecommunications. This will promote diversified economies, expanded opportunity and will bolster peace and reconciliation efforts,” the Secretary of State said.
According to Antony Blinken, there is a strong future with a region that is increasingly integrated and that will benefit people and countries. “And the United States, the European Union want to help you build that,” Blinken said, adding that he looks forward to a fruitful discussion.
Blinken thanked Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the partnership, noting that it is of great importance and creates a very solid foundation for what can be done together in the future.
“We are here to reaffirm Trans-Atlantic support for democratic, prosperous future for the Armenian people and a more integrated and a more peaceful South Caucasus region. We share the Armenian people’s vision for the future, we want Armenia to take its place as a strong, independent nation in peace with its neighbors, connected to the region and the world. The United States and the European Union both want to be partners in this effort. And today is the evidence of that,” said Blinken, adding that it is necessary to harness this moment of the choice of the Armenian people and its leaders.
The Secretary of State noted that the USA is investing in efforts that are aligned with the Prime Minister’s governance and economic reforms.
“We plan to provide more than 65 million dollars in aid. This indicator is 50% more than that of 2 years ago. We intend to further increase our support for Armenia’s democracy and economic stability by investing in food security, digital infrastructure, energy diversification, diversification of trading partners and other priorities set by the Prime Minister,” Blinken emphasized.
Referring to the support of the forcibly displaced Armenian population from Nagorno Karabakh, the Secretary of State, in particular, noted: “We will continue to support 100 thousand ethnic Armenians displaced from Nagorno Karabakh. This is central to Armenia’s long-term stability and prosperity, as well as regional security. Regional integration is a key to security and prosperity for Armenia.”
Josep Borrell reminded that two months ago he and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan decided to work on a new EU-Armenia partnership agenda and emphasized that the new agenda will provide an ambitious vision to promote bilateral cooperation in areas that are important for Armenia’s resilience, mobility, trade diversification and connectivity.
Josep Borrell assured that these are not just words of support. “We welcome Armenia’s efforts in the direction of democracy, the fight against corruption and the establishment of the rule of law. It will be important to continue the reforms to further increase the country’s resilience. The EU will continue to support reform efforts through the implementation of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement,” said the EU High Representative.
Borrell emphasized that a strong and stable Armenia means a stronger and more stable South Caucasus, which will benefit all the countries of the region.
