Official visit by the President of the Republic of Armenia

Brdo pri Kranju, 13.4.2011  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, today received the President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, who had arrived on an official visit to the Republic of Slovenia. After being received with military honours, Mr Sargsyan had a one-to-one meeting with Dr Türk, which was followed by talks between the Slovenian delegation and Armenian delegation, led respectively by Dr Türk and Mr Sargsyan.

After a press conference, the two leaders took part in the formal signing of bilateral agreements between Slovenia and Armenia:

• the Protocol on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia in the field of European integration, signed on the part of the Republic of Slovenia by the Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel ®bogar, and
• the Memorandum on cooperation between the Ministry of the Economy of the Republic of Slovenia and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia in the field of tourism, signed on the part of the Republic of Slovenia by the Slovenian Minister of the Economy, Darja Radiæ.

Dr Türk opened by welcoming President Sargsyan, pointing out that Armenia and Slovenia have established ties of friendship despite the geographical distance between them. He said that Slovenia sees Armenia as an important partner of the European Union within the Eastern Partnership. The European Union has put relations with the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia at the top of its strategic priorities, he stressed, adding that Slovenia is making every effort to see that this cooperation is as complete as possible. It is in this context that Slovenia and Armenia are concluding the Protocol on cooperation in the field of European integration.

President Sargsyan thanked President Türk and the citizens of Slovenia for their hospitality. He emphasized that Slovenia and Armenia were bound together by historical ties since, in the past, both had struggled hard to survive and maintain their cultural identity. He portrayed Slovenia as a country that has achieved exemplary development since its independence, and is today a successful EU Member State. He also commended Slovenia for the progress made in its relations with Croatia - the two countries have succeeded in overcoming the tensions of the past and today enjoy excellent cooperation. Armenia, on the other hand, has not been so fortunate with its neighbours. President Sargsyan gave assurances that Armenia would continue to strive for the development of cooperation with the European Union. In this regard, he welcomed the signing of the memorandum with Slovenia, adding that Armenia may learn a great deal from Slovenia in the field of European affairs.

President Türk stressed that although bilateral cooperation between the two countries was good, a great deal of further efforts and development were still needed in this regard. Given the modest volume of trade between Slovenia and Armenia, the talks between business leaders during the official visit by the Armenian President will focus on possible ways to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries. In Dr Türk’s words, the two countries should aim to develop cultural cooperation. Since Slovenia and Armenia also wish to develop cooperation in the field of tourism, a special memorandum on cooperation in this field has been signed to that end. Dr Türk highlighted energy, information and communication technologies, and agricultural mechanisation as promising industries for the development of economic cooperation.

President Sargsyan agreed that numerous ties have been established between Slovenia and Armenia in recent years, and that the two countries have engaged in closer and more intense bilateral cooperation. He recalled the successful official visit by the Slovenian President and the economic delegation to Armenia last year. On that occasion, the two countries concluded a series of agreements on economic cooperation, with another one being signed today – the memorandum on cooperation in tourism. He also highlighted the importance of cultural communication and different exchange programmes. He recalled that, last year, Ljubljana had hosted a series of cultural events to bring Armenian culture and history closer to the Slovenian public. In this regard, he said that special events to promote Slovenian culture would also be organised and held in Yerevan.

Dr Türk highlighted the importance of joint efforts to resolve all political issues in any way relating to international peace and security. He said that Slovenia supported the efforts of the Minsk Group to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict – one of the longest-running conflicts in the area of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Slovenia is strongly committed to the resolution of this issue and encourages communication to this end; this communication has recently intensified thanks to the Minsk Group and the President of the Russian Federation. Despite its troubled history, full of political insecurity and violence, Armenia has retained its life force and optimism. According to President Türk, this is why Armenia will also be successful in resolving all the practical issues of the present moment.

President Sargsyan said that Armenia had always advocated the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, seeing it as the only possible option. In a week, the Armenian and Azerbaijani Ministers of Foreign Affairs will meet through the mediation of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. President Sargsyan expressed the wish that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue might soon be settled. He highlighted the principle of resolving conflicts without resorting to the use of force, the principle of the right of peoples to self-determination, and the principle of territorial integrity as the key principles for resolving this issue. He advocated that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, who have lived in their territory for thousands of years, be given a chance to decide on their fate by themselves.