Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who is in Brussels met with French Republic President Emmanuel Macron at NATO Headquarters. To begin with, the Prime Minister congratulated Emmanuel Macron on French national football team’s qualification for the World Cup final and wished the French team every success.

Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that Armenia highly appreciates the privileged relations with France, which are based on the two peoples’ traditional friendship and mutual respect. “We are honored to hold the 17th Summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie. We are committed to holding it at the highest level. We are grateful to France for the assistance rendered during the preparatory stage,” the Prime Minister said, adding that during the Summit great attention will be paid to the economic component: it is planned to hold a business forum for entrepreneurs and employers from French-speaking countries that will result in the establishment of a network of business people from Francophone countries.

The Premier said equal conditions for business activity have been created in Armenia and expressed confidence that the arrangements will give fresh impetus to Armenian-French economic ties. Nikol Pashinyan expressed conviction that Emmanuel Macron’s State visit to Armenia and his participation in the Summit will make this important event even more representative both for Armenia and for the whole French-speaking community.

Emmanuel Macron congratulated Nikol Pashinyan on being elected as Prime Minister of Armenia and went on to note the importance of a peaceful, democratic resolution of events in our country. The French President assured of his country’s readiness to continue with the efforts aimed at developing multifaceted cooperation with friendly Armenia, including trade and economy.

Emmanuel Macron expressed confidence that the Francophonie Summit in Yerevan would be held at the highest level and expressed the hope that during his forthcoming visit to Armenia it would be possible to discuss issues and projects aimed at the furtherance and strengthening of Armenian-French relations.

With reference to the Karabakh conflict, the parties stressed the need for a peaceful settlement in the format of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. Nikol Pashinyan highly appreciated the efforts being made by the Co-Chairs, including France, aimed at achieving a peaceful settlement and ensuring stability in the region.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Armenia is committed to the peace process brokered by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and added that any attempt to tackle the issue through military means should be viewed as an encroachment on democracy and human rights.