 President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Danilo Türk and his spouse Barbara Mikliè Türk arrived on official visit to Armenia. President Türk was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel ®bogar and an economic delegation comprising 35 representatives from the Slovene business sector. In the morning, President Türk laid a wreath at the memorial to the victims of genocide, visited the Armenian Genocide Museum with his spouse and planted a tree in the Alley of honourable guests.
Later, President Türk and his spouse Türk Mikliè arrived to the Presidential Palace in Yerevan where they were welcomed by President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and his spouse Rita Sargsyan. After a reception ceremony with military honours, both Presidents had a tête-à-tête meeting, and led plenary talks between the delegation of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Slovenia. |
 After the plenary talks the Presidents attended the solemn signing of four bilateral agreements of cooperation between the countries. These agreements are a Convention on the Avoidance of Double Taxation, an Agreement on the Abolition of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic Passports, an Agreement on Cooperation in Culture, Education and Science, and an Agreement on Economic Cooperation. On behalf of Slovenia, the agreements were signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel ®bogar. Later, President Sargsyan has awarded Mr Mitja Rotovnik, general manager of the Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre in Ljubljana, with a medal of Movses Khorenatsi for a great contribution to the development of cultural cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Slovenia. |
 Armenian President Sargsyan stressed that this is the first time that one of the Slovene Presidents paid visit to Armenia, adding that after their gain of independence both countries were concurrently busy with state building and their priorities in foreign politics. He expressed hope that the official visit by President Türk will contribute to more often contacts between the countries at the highest level. Both Presidents strive for a continuous deepening of the cooperation that is in the interests of both countries. They gave special attention to the possibilities of deepening the economic cooperation and agreed that the four new bilateral agreements between the countries that were signed today will be an important legislative framework for promoting cooperation in several areas. |
 President Türk noted the possibility of an economic cooperation in a variety of areas, such as pharmaceuticals, chemical industry, information technology and various services. President Sargsyan noted that Slovenia is one of the leaders among new member states of the EU in terms of its economic growth performance and that Armenia is very impressed by it. He expressed an interest for Slovene investments and for implementing best practices into the Armenian economy.
President Türk expressed admiration for the old Armenian culture and the Armenian country with modern aspiration which is able, in his opinion, to contribute significantly to the regional cooperation in the Caucasus. He especially underlined the importance of cultural cooperation and reminded that earlier this year Slovenia had a very successful series of events in Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana which presented Armenian culture and history to people in Slovenia. President Türk added that next year a similar set of cultural events representing Slovenia will be held in Yerevan. Both Presidents agreed on the importance of further deepening of cultural cooperation and human relations and the Slovene President mentioned the need for a greater liberalisation in the movement of people. |
 The Armenian President explained that Armenia sees the relations with Slovenia in a broader context for a convergence with the European Union. Both Presidents agreed that the Eastern Partnership of the European Union brings many new possibilities for cooperation. President Türk assessed the Eastern Partnership as the key priority in the future of the European Union and, in his words, because of its position in this sensitive area Armenia has an important role in this process. He stressed that the world needs to take into account Armenia’s opinion and work with it when handling regional security issues. |
 The Presidents also shared their opinion about the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh. President Sargsyan repeated Armenia's opinion that it is important to move ahead towards a peaceful resolution of the problem without threats to use forces, within a framework of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, by respecting the rules and principles of international law. He stressed that it is important to introduce Nagorno-Karabakh as a full participant of peace negotiations as soon as possible. President Türk agreed that it is important to solve conflicts peacefully and stressed the importance of reinstating trust. “Frozen conflict must be unfrozen and resolved, whereas confidence is a necessary bridge towards resolution”, said president Türk.
The two Presidents talked about a broader international security. President Türk mentioned certain initiatives that need to be taken into consideration seriously and may contribute significantly to the improvement of international security. President Türk stressed the proposals made by President of Russia Medvedev regarding the new security architecture in the Euro-Asian area and the new strategic concept of the North-Atlantic alliance which will bring new possibilities to strengthen the security cooperation in the entire Euro Atlantic and Euro-Asian area. |
 In the afternoon, Slovene President Türk met Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Sargsyanom who presented to him the economic situation in Armenia whose gross domestic product dropped significantly due to the recession and also due to complicated relations with its neighbours as it is possible to cross borders only to the Republic of Georgia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Prime Minister stressed that Armenia has a great interest in economic cooperation with Slovenia, especially in areas such as pharmaceuticals, internet technology, energetics and agriculture. Prime Minister and President Türk put emphasis on tourism that may be a good stimulation for cooperation in other sectors.
The Armenian Prime Minister presented to the Slovene President Armenia's strivings to perform the necessary structural reforms among which he stressed the pension scheme reform. Both participants concluded that the countries are facing similar problems and President Türk made an initiative to exchange the experience and knowledge in these areas. President Türk and Prime Minister Sargsyan talked also about the Armenian-Slovene business conference that, according to them, may contribute significantly to the improvement of economic cooperation between both countries.
President Türk and his spouse Barbara Mikliè Türk, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and his spouse Rita Sargsyan visited an exhibition of Slovene 20th century architecture that took place in the Armenian House of Artists in Yerevan. |
 Later, President Serzh Sargsyan and President Danilo Türk held joint press conference where they delivered speech to the businessmen from both countries. President Serzh Sargsyan stressed that at the moment the exchange between the countries is very poor, however, the visit by the President of Slovenia and the economic delegation gives him hope that the situation will change in the future, as there are more than enough opportunities for cooperation. President Danilo Türk spoke of the perspective sectors and invited listeners to make joint projects, i.e. the development of tourist infrastructure together with medical services where Slovenia has many experience. Later both Presidents and the businessmen from both countries participated in a discussion about possibilities for economic cooperation.
On the second day of their official visit, Slovene President Danilo Türk and his spouse Barbara Mikliè Türk again met Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and his spouse, which was followed by an official military farewell ceremony. Before leaving Armenia, President Türk and his spouse met also the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. |