Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is paying a working visit to the People’s Republic of China, today met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the House of People’s Representatives.

The Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China welcomed Nikol Pashinyan’s visit and expressed confidence that it would contribute to the furtherance and strengthening of bilateral relations. Highlighting the fact of centuries-old bilateral ties, Li Keqiang described it as a solid basis to give new impetus to cooperation between China and Armenia.

“We can closely cooperate in a wide range of areas, given the similarities between our two countries: there is a strong political groundwork for this,” Li Keqiang said.

Thankful for the warm welcome, Prime Minister Pashinyan said: “I am very pleased with this meeting. The Dialogue of Asian Civilizations conference is important for us. The opening of the conference was quite impressive. The forum is a good opportunity to review cooperation prospects. It is my pleasure to have such an opportunity and meet with you on the margins of the conference. Armenia and China have common interests. I feel that this visit will add momentum to the work on programs that represent the interests of Armenia and China.” Nikol Pashinyan made a point of cooperation in the fields of industry, transport and information technology.

In turn, Li Keqiang highlighted the furtherance of economic ties, stressing that the Chinese side’s approaches go in tune with the priorities voiced by Prime Minister Pashinyan.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to joint programs in the fields of trade, industry, transport, information technology and agriculture. Reference was made to the possibility of cooperating under the North-South Highway Project and other infrastructure-related projects implemented in Armenia. Li Keqiang stressed that the Chinese government is ready to participate in these programs.

The parties next discussed the possibility of implementing joint projects under the One Belt, One Way initiative in the fields of transport, railway communications and information infrastructures.

The discussion of the Armenian-Chinese economic agenda continued during the working dinner.

The meeting was attended by RA Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technologies Hakob Arshakyan, the Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Industry and Information Technologies.