The official visit to the Republic of Armenia of the governmental delegation led by Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong has kicked off.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his spouse Anna Hakobyan greeted the Singapore Prime Minister and his spouse Ho Jin On Baghramyan-26. The national anthems of the two countries were played, after which an official welcome ceremony was held.

Negotiations between the two government delegations began after the protocol photo session. Greeting the Singapore counterpart in Yerevan, PM Pashinyan said: “Your Excellency, I warmly remember our delegation’s recent official visit to Singapore, which was held in a productive and wonderful atmosphere. We attach great importance to the development and expansion of relations with Singapore, and we are confident that your visit to Yerevan will help promote multifaceted cooperation between our countries.”

The Singapore Prime Minister thanked for the warm welcome. “Mr. Prime Minister, your visit to our country was very productive and we came to Yerevan to give a new impetus to bilateral relations. We attach great importance to expanding relations with Armenia, including in the area of economic and business development,” Lee Hsien Loong said.

The parties expressed confidence that high-level mutual visits may promote political, economic and humanitarian cooperation. The interlocutors touched upon the implementation of the agreements reached in Singapore, noting that the bilateral relations continued to develop dynamically. Nikol Pashinyan and Lee Hsien Loong specifically discussed issues related to the implementation of joint investment programs, increased trade turnover, high technology, tourism and other areas of cooperation.

Nikol Pashinyan presented the ongoing institutional reform in Armenia, including the judiciary, public administration, the fight against corruption, the investment climate, etc. The Singapore Prime Minister reaffirmed his government’s support for Armenian counterparts in exchange of experience in various fields and in implementing effective reforms.

The interlocutors also discussed multilateral cooperation, in particular in the framework of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement to be signed between the Eurasian Economic Union and Singapore.

Nikol Pashinyan and Lee Hsien Loong expressed confidence that the abovementioned instruments and the Armenia-Singapore Bilateral Agreement on Services, Trade and Investment would give new impetus to the bilateral economic relations and the realization of the great potential in that direction.

The Prime Ministers exchanged views on other issues of regional importance.

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After the official welcoming ceremony, Anna Hakobyan and Ho Jin visited the Megeryan Carpet Factory.

Accompanied by factory owner Raffi Megeryan and marketing director Karen Ayvazyan, the Prime Ministers’ spouses toured the factory. They were introduced to the history of carpet processing in Armenia and watched the manufacturing process.