On a working visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today met with the country’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

Greeting his Armenian counterpart, the Luxembourg Prime Minister thanked him for the visit. Impressed with the political developments underway in Armenia, Xavier Bettel expressed confidence that the vote of confidence received from the Armenian people would help Pashinyan’s government to succeed in implementing the planned programs, initiatives and reforms for the sake of Armenia’s development.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg expressed his strong belief that the governments of the two countries will continue to cooperate in order to upgrade the bilateral relations and strengthen the ties between the two peoples.

Thankful for the warm welcome, Prime Minister Pashinyan said his government keen to develop multifaceted relations between the two countries. The head of the Armenian government attached importance to the development of economic cooperation and trade exchanges. The Premier stressed the need for taking concrete steps to boost interactions between the two governments. In this connection, Nikol Pashinyan pointed out that the reforms implemented in Armenia have gone a long way toward improving the country’s business environment and creating favorable conditions for investment programs.

Prime Minister Pashinyan noted that the Revolution’s first phase is complete, and now the Government is set to implement an economic revolution in the country. The Prime Minister of Armenia advised that the World IT Congress will be held in Yerevan this fall and stressed the importance of Luxembourg-based companies’ participation in that major event of global coverage.

Nikol Pashinyan and Xavier Bettel discussed prospects of cooperation in different sectors of the economy - information technologies, processing industry, agriculture, tourism and other spheres. Mindful of boosting business ties, the parties highlighted the importance of business forums. They expressed conviction that the bilateral economic relations have great development potential, and the sides might well expand them through joint efforts.

The Luxembourg Prime Minister said his country prepared to closely cooperate and assist the Armenian government in promoting the planned reforms. Xavier Bettel suggested activating exchanges in the field of education, specifically between universities, and implementing student exchange programs.

During the meeting, the interlocutors took the opportunity to exchange views on Armenia-European Union relations and other topics of mutual interest.

Nikol Pashinyan invited the Prime Minister of Luxembourg to visit Armenia, noting that reciprocated top-level visits may eventually promote the furtherance and strengthening of relations between the two countries and peoples.

Following the meeting, Nikol Pashinyan and Xavier Bettel take a tour of Luxemburg and visited the Town Hall, where the Armenian Premier had a brief meeting with Luxembourg Mayor Lydie Polfer.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is paying a working visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, visited the Chamber of Deputies of that country. Chamber of Deputies President Fernand Etgen met the Prime Minister of Armenia.

Nikol Pashinyan first signed the Golden Book of the Chamber of Deputies, after which he held a meeting with Chamber members, including Luxembourg Parliament Deputy Speakers Claude Wiesler and Henry Cox, as well as Chairman of Standing Committee on Foreign and European Cooperation, Immigration and Refugee Affairs Marc Angel.

Welcoming the Prime Minister, Fernand Etgen expressed confidence that his visit to Luxembourg would promote the development and expansion of relations between the two countries.

The President of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg said his country is ready to expand cooperation with Armenia in strengthening democracy, developing civil society, protecting human rights and in other areas of mutual interest

Presenting the processes underway in our country, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that democracy is irreversible in Armenia, and our country will continue to develop and consolidate the democratic institutions.

“Our government and the political team are firmly heading along the path of democracy. We are confident that our efforts will result in Armenia’s full-fledged integration with the international community, which adheres to a democratic system of values. The processes that followed up the political revolution were aimed at this very objective, and we are convinced that we will succeed,” the Prime Minister of Armenia said.

Nikol Pashinyan underscored that the political revolution will be followed by an economic revolution, and his government is taking steps to improve the business climate, create an investment-friendly environment by combating monopolies, implementing fundamental reforms and waging an uncompromised anticorruption campaign.

The interlocutors attached importance to the activation of political dialogue between the two countries and highlighted the deepening and furtherance of inter-parliamentary ties in the development of the Armenian-Luxembourg interstate relations.

Noting that Armenia has switched over to a full-fledged parliamentary governance system, Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the need for boosting parliamentary contacts.

Fernand Etgen stated in turn that Armenia is an important partner for Luxembourg and his country is ready to closely cooperate and expand ties in different directions.

The Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies went on to discuss ways of strengthening EU-Armenia cooperation, which has entered a new stage after the signing of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Nikol Pashinyan thanked the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg for completing the CEPA ratification procedure. In this context, he stressed the importance soonest possible ratification by other EU-member States as well.

The parties next exchanged views on the furtherance of Armenia-Luxembourg cooperation, the development of EU-Armenia relations and CEPA-related issues.
Nikol Pashinyan answered to various questions concerning the changes taking place in Armenia and the priorities of his government.

Reference was made to regional issues, including the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the Armenian-Turkish relations.

Nikol Pashinyan thanked Luxembourg for a balanced position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Taking the opportunity, Nikol Pashinyan conveyed RA National Assembly Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan’s invitation for Fernand Etgen to visit Armenia at his convenience.

In conclusion, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was honored with a dinner hosted by President of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg Fernand Etgen.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has arrived in Brussels on a working visit. The head of the Armenian government visited the headquarters of the European Council, where he was welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk.

Nikol Pashinyan joined the leaders of Eastern Partnership-member States for an official dinner hosted by President of the European Council Donald Tusk on the occasion of the Eastern Partnership 10-year anniversary.

The dinner was also attended by President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, Vice President of the European Commission, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, former Foreign Ministers of Poland and Sweden Radosław Sikorski and Carl Bildt, who initiated the Eastern Partnership.

The leaders of Eastern Partnership-member nations, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as well as the above-mentioned high-ranking officials addressed the event with greeting remarks. They touched upon the programs implemented on the margins of the Eastern Partnership over the past 10 years, as well as on the forthcoming actions and initiatives.