Opening remarks by Foreign Minister of Armenia at the U.S. Strategic Dialogue Capstone Meeting
At the start of the Capstone meeting of the Armenia-US Strategic Dialogue, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia gave opening remarks:
“Assistant Secretary O’Brien,
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Dear colleagues,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you and the whole US delegation here in Yerevan, to hold the 2nd Capstone Meeting of the Armenia-U.S. Strategic Dialogue.
Today’s meeting is yet another expression of high-level political dialogue between our two countries that will give another impetus to the evolving partnership between Armenia and the United States.
The strong commitment to democratic principles is at the very core of our partnership. Despite the fact that democracy is threatened globally, including in our region, despite the security challenges and emerging hybrid threats, the Government of Armenia is decisive to follow the democratic choice of its people, to strengthen the relevant state institutions to ensure the rule of law and strong protection for human rights. In this context, our active participation in the Summit for Democracy in recent years is one of the vivid manifestations of Armenia’s commitment and engagement towards building a more robust democracy, resilient enough to face and overcome all these difficulties. I do believe that our like-minded partners and namely the USA fully support and stand with us to prove that democracies are capable of delivering.
And here, in order to succeed, we should be deepening multidimensional and multisectoral cooperation, including but not limited to economy and energy, defense and security, high technologies and cyber security, justice and the rule of law. The bilateral agenda continues to expand and include dimensions critical for the resilience and sustainable development of Armenia. In this context, I want to recall the high-level Armenia-US-EU meeting held on the 5th of April, 2024 in Brussels and the arrangements indicated in the joint press statement.
We also believe that our enhanced partnership, along with the continued U.S. support for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, holds the potential to contribute to the establishment of durable and dignified peace in the South Caucasus.
In this context, I want to reiterate that Armenia remains strongly committed to the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan and border delimitation based on the mutual recognition of territorial integrity in accordance with the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. We believe there is a real opportunity, a historical momentum to finalize the draft peace treaty, the signing of which could open the door for lasting peace in the region.
As part of the peace agenda and vision for regional development, Armenia is also strongly interested in unblocking all regional communications based on full respect for countries’ sovereignty and jurisdiction and the principles of equality and reciprocity, as underpinned by our Government’s initiative of “Crossroads of Peace”.
Dear colleagues,
Coming to the agenda of today’s meeting, we have a wide array of concrete steps and plans to discuss ranging from economic and energy diversification to defense and justice reforms. We have been efficient in utilizing three working groups under the auspices of Armenia-US Strategic Dialogue and holding relevant meetings in 2023. Considering the growing nature and dynamics of bilateral relations, we are hopeful to upgrade our Strategic Dialogue to a Strategic Partnership Commission that could further enhance the structured approach to our multifaceted cooperation.
On sectoral cooperation:
- With the participation of our relevant agencies, we will have a chance to review growing economic cooperation, including in the framework of the Armenia-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and further trade liberalization, that could bring more prosperity, development and opportunities for the Armenian economy and make it more resilient. I believe there are additional mechanisms and effective tools to support economic diversification and we will discuss how to make the best use of them.
- Given the current challenges, energy diversification is also an important part of our agenda, and we will review the work already done and look into perspectives, including in the fields of nuclear energy and renewables.
- In defense cooperation: it is with satisfaction that I note the holding of the Eagle Partner exercise in 2023. We are interested in further exploring possibilities for cooperation for Armenia’s defense transformation.
- I would also like to stress justice and public sector reforms and Armenia’s commitment to strengthen democratic institutions, aimed at building a stronger, more secure, and advanced environment for our citizens. We have made significant progress, the results are tangible and visible.
Dear colleagues,
These are our today’s main priorities while the interest to enhance our cooperation goes beyond the sectors I mentioned. We have a comprehensive agenda before us, and I look forward to a fruitful and productive session. I am confident that our discussions today will further solidify our partnership and advance our shared vision of a democratic, peaceful, and prosperous future.”