Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received today Francisco Bustillo, the Foreign Minister of Uruguay, who is in Armenia on an official visit.

Greeting the guest, PM Pashinyan said,

''Honorable Mr. Minister,dear guests, I welcome you in the capital city of the Republic of Armenia, at the Government of the country.

Our relations, the warmth of the relations between our countries, suggest that we should see each other more often, we should communicate more often.

In this regard, I was very pleased to learn of Uruguay's decision to open an embassy in Yerevan. We are also considering opening an embassy in Uruguay, and by your decision you helped us make a decision sooner.

I think the warm, friendly atmosphere that exists between our countries and the more than positive perception that exists in the Republic of Armenia towards Uruguay, make it very important that the warmth be strengthened by closer economic relations.

The agreement signed between the EAEU and MERCOSUR gives us an opportunity to make real efforts in that direction and achieve concrete results.

I hope that the opening of embassies will give further impetus to this direction of our relations, especially given the fact that we have a very large Armenian community in Uruguay - an additional, key factor for warm relations between our countries.

Once again, I'm glad to see you. You are welcome''.

In his turn, Foreign Minister of Uruguay Francisco Bustillo said,

''Mr. Prime Minister, I am very thankful. First of all I would like to thank you for your warm reception starting from yesterday evening, when we stepped into Armenia.

Before meeting with you, we met with the Minister of Economy and the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, telling them in the conversation that we feel as if we are at home.

In fact, we communicate very easily, and that's conditioned by the presence of a very important Armenian community in Uruguay, which is fully integrated in our country.

Uruguay and Armenia have more historical similarities than geographical differences.

During the meeting with Armen Grigoryan, I have already mentioned that the voice of Uruguay in the global arena has always been also the voice of Armenia.

For that reason I welcome the decision to open the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Uruguay in the near future and we have already informed Mr. Grigoryan about our decision to open an embassy of Uruguay in the Republic of Armenia, as well as about the fact that our first Ambassador to your country will be our dear friend Eduardo Rosenbrock.

I have been asked by all the officials I have met with, both the Minister of Economy and the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, how to improve bilateral trade and economic relations. There is just one answer. It is impossible to improve the already brilliant political relations between our countries.

And just for that reason I believe in the near future we will have very successful trade and economic relations.

In this context, let me congratulate you, Mr. Prime Minister, on your re-election, with the confidence that your tenure will be beneficial for both the Republic of Armenia and our bilateral relations. "

Nikol Pashinyan underlined that Uruguay has a special place in the hearts of the Armenian people as the first state to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide (1965). The Prime Minister praised Uruguay's impartial, constructive position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, noting that Armenia is grateful for the resolution adopted by the Senate of Uruguay in October 2020 condemning the involvement of mercenaries in the war by Turkey, as well as the resolution adopted by the Chamber of Representatives, which condemns the incidents of violation of human rights and bombardment of civilian infrastructures by Azerbaijan.

The Foreign Minister of Uruguay said that he is glad to visit friendly Armenia and have the opportunity to discuss the prospects for closer bilateral relations.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the prospects of expanding trade and economic cooperation. The development of humanitarian ties, fostering cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture and sports were also highlighted.