Republican Party of Armenia

 President Serzh Sargsyan today received today the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), Didier Reynders, Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs.

The Armenian President welcomed the dignitary to our country and stressed that Armenia is keen on continuously developing bilateral relations with the friendly country of Belgium and attaches great value to its dialogue and cooperation with the CoE in the context of the ongoing domestic reforms. Noting that Armenia has made considerable progress on the way both to fulfilling the RA obligations as a CoE member state and its membership commitments, Serzh Sargsyan added that nevertheless, there is still a great deal to be done, and our country is determined to proceed with the reforms.

The President wished Didier Reynders success in bringing his crucial mission – the Chairmanship of the CoE Committee of Ministers – to an end whose term elapses in less than a month.

Didier Reynders expressed his thanks for the best wishes and warm hospitality and underscored that he highly values Belgium’s close and effective cooperation with Armenia. He expressed satisfaction with his official meetings held in Yerevan yesterday and today, noting that he considers both Armenian-Belgian bilateral relations and the cooperation within the frame of the CoE to be excellent, and it is necessary to continue making consistent efforts to strengthen those relations and promote economic collaboration.

Noting that he is aware of the importance and significance that Armenia attaches to the current year filled with events marking the Armenian Genocide Centennial, Didier Reynders said that following the meeting, he is going to visit the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex to pay tribute to the memory of the Genocide victims.

The President expressed his gratitude to Mr. Reynders for the CoE’s high-level participation in the global forum “Against the Crime of Genocide” held in Yerevan the other day, as well as for the presence of the Belgian delegation in the commemorative ceremony of April 24. Serzh Sargsyan underlined that Armenia greatly appreciates and values the contribution made by Belgian authorities and Mr. Reynders personally to the passing of the resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide by the Belgian Senate.

At the meeting, the interlocutors touched upon issues pertaining to the RA-CoE cooperation agenda, the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, the CoE assistance to the ongoing reforms in Armenia, as well as upon a number of issues of mutual interest. In that context, Didier Reynders noted that the CoE is ready and committed to continuing its support for Armenia on its way to implementing, inter alia political, economic and legal reforms.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Didier Reynders reaffirmed the position of his country and of the Chairman of the CoE Committee of Ministers backing the internationally mandated mediators – the OSCE Minsk Group – in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.