Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. After welcoming Prime Minister Pashinyan and the Armenian delegation, the leaders of the two countries made statements to mass media representatives in anticipation of their private talks.

FRG Chancellor Angela Merkel:
“I am pleased to once again welcome to Germany Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. We had an opportunity to meet last year, and the ties between our two countries have intensified ever since. Today we will talk about the furtherance of our bilateral relations.

You know that Armenia has seen many changes owing to the new Prime Minister. There is parliamentary democracy, elections have been held. Fundamental changes are being implemented, including the judiciary reform, which is done in cooperation with the Venice Commission. It is not an easy process, but we wish Armenia every success in those efforts.

As I noted above, our relations have intensified. When I visited Armenia, I happened to be at the TUMO Center in Yerevan and was very excited about it. An agreement has been signed on establishing a similar center in Germany, and we will be able to inaugurate it in Berlin this fall.

We held an economic forum last October, which ushered in a new vector in German-Armenian relations. We appreciate Armenia’s close cooperation in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.

Armenia has signed an agreement with the European Union; at the same time it is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, and we still have to work hard for the cooperation of the two unions.

High on the agenda of today’s discussion is the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We will have to work hard and long in order to have a breakthrough in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

Mr. Prime Minister is due to follow up his trip to Munich. We are grateful and happy to host you here today.”

RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan:
“Madam Chancellor,
Dear mass media representatives,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to state that we have been meeting with Madam Chancellor for the third time during my tenure over the past one and a half years. This testifies to the high level of our relations.

Germany is a close friend and a reliable partner for Armenia and we feel the power of that friendship both emotionally and practically. Germany is a powerful bridge that connects Armenia with the European Union, European civilization and culture.

Today I can state with confidence that our friendship is based on shared values. They unite our two countries and serve as a strong basis for multifaceted cooperation.

I am pleased to note that we are likewise bound by mutually beneficial cooperation and business programs. We are prepared to do our best to further strengthen and advance the ongoing cooperation. In a short while, we will have the opportunity to discuss with Chancellor Merkel our cooperation agenda.

I would like to make a point of Germany’s continued support for Armenian reforms. We are grateful for the moral, political, technical and financial support provided by Germany and the European Union. It is crucial for us to ensure the irreversibility of democracy in our country, strengthen the rule of law through drastic reform of economic and political institutions.

I would like to highlight another key aspect of our interest in having close relations with Germany. You may know that Armenia shifted to a parliamentary system of government in 2018, while Germany has served a successful model as a highly effective parliamentary government, strong with clear-cut counterbalancing mechanisms, where democracy has not been questioned for quite a long time now. In this regard, our relations with Germany are extremely important. We are going to talk about Armenia’s latest developments and our reform agenda, including the imperative of making democracy institutionally strong and irreversible in Armenia.

In general, evoking the ongoing cooperation with Germany, I would like to highlight the activities carried out by the German International Cooperation Association (GIZ) and the German Bank for Reconstruction (KfW) in our country.

We will dedicate a significant portion of our meeting to the economic agenda that has seen significant progress over the last one and a half years. In this regard, we look forward to the planned meeting of the Armenian-German intergovernmental commission. I am glad that a delegation of German businessmen is due to visit Armenia later this month, while the German Economic Union will hold the Armenia-Germany Economic Forum 2020 in October. We are keen to see more German companies coming to Armenia.

I am happy to state, Madam Chancellor, that we have made tangible progress on almost all arrangements since our meeting last year. It is gratifying that we have signed an agreement with KfW to set up a TUMO technology training center in Berlin. It is a great honor for us to share our advanced experience with a leading technology-intensive country like Germany.

We will also discuss cultural, scientific and educational cooperation. It is important for us to master Germany’s educational experience. We are very much interested in disseminating the knowledge of German language and culture in Armenia. We are hopeful that inaugurated as early as in December, 2017 the Goethe Center in Yerevan will soon become a full-fledged institute.

In conclusion, let me state that the Armenian-German relations today are at their highest level ever. Thank you.”