Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Lebanon Elias Bu Saab.

Nikol Pashinyan welcomed Lebanese Defense Minister’s visit to our country. He recalled his visit to Lebanon last fall, the meetings held with the country’s top leadership, and noted that high-level official visits contribute to the deepening of bilateral cooperation. The Prime Minister stressed that the two peoples are bound by centuries-old friendship; a vibrant Armenian community exists in Lebanon, a high-level political dialogue is going on between the two countries, and Armenia attaches importance to continued close relations with Lebanon in the political, economic, military, cultural, humanitarian and other fields.

Thankful for the warm welcome, Elias Bu Saab noted that it was a great honor for him to be in Armenia and discuss cooperation prospects with the Armenian counterparts. According to him, Armenia and Lebanon have great potential to develop cooperation in defense, as well as in the economy, culture, tourism and other fields of mutual interest.

The interlocutors looked at ways of boosting cooperation in the field of defense, exchange of experience, implementation of joint projects, as well as international and regional security challenges.

The Prime Minister referred to the goals of the Armenian humanitarian mission in Syria and the participation of Armenian peacekeepers in the UN mission in Lebanon, emphasizing that Armenia attaches importance to the establishment of peace and stability in the region.

The Lebanese Minister of National Defense welcomed Armenia’s humanitarian activities in Syria and expressed gratitude for Armenian peacekeepers’ participation in the UN mission in southern Lebanon.