Friday, 12 November 2021
Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan delivers speech at the session of the CIS Council of Heads of Government
Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan participated in the session of the CIS Council of Heads of Governments through a video conference.
During the session the Deputy Prime Minister delivered remarks, where he particularly said,
''Honorable Heads of Governments, participants of the session,
First of all let me thank the organizers of today’s session and the Executive Committee for the great and effective work.
In relation to the statement made by Azerbaijan I would like to emphasize that one year ago by the mediation of the Russian Federation a declaration was approved by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on the ceasefire and termination of all military operations in the conflict zone of Nagorno-Karabakh. We highly appreciate the efforts made by our Russian allies, as well as the activities of the peacekeeping unit deployed along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact and the corridor of Lachin.
As a consequence of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan 40 thousand people were left homeless and lost property, 17 thousand civilian objects and infrastructure were destroyed, thousands of people, including civilians died and were injured, the fate of many is unknown so far.
Despite the obligations Azerbaijan assumed, it continues to torpedo the process of the implementation of the agreements, including to keep many Armenian prisoners of war in captivity, which is not only a gross violation of the 8th point of the November 9, 2020 declaration, but also of international humanitarian law.
By distorting the provisions of the trilateral statements of November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021 on unblocking infrastructures, Azerbaijan is speculating the idea of ''corridor'’, which is being accompanied by the threat of use of force.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be solved by force. The settlement of the conflict can be achieved by negotiations only in the framework of the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs.
For deescalating the situation and entering a peaceful development phase, it is necessary that Azerbaijan adopts a constructive position by giving up the hate policy, aggressive rhetoric and hostile actions.
Returning to the issues on the agenda of today’s session, I have to mention that the Armenian side considers the documents included in the agenda as a demonstration of the CIS member states’ efforts aimed at the promotion of economic cooperation, increase of the competitiveness of the economies of the CIS member states and strengthening of their positions in the global system.
It is obvious that the development of high technologies plays a decisive role in the preservation of security and increase of living standards of the population. The countries that create and develop high technologies take a leading position in the international arena.
In the modern world digitalization, innovation and new technologies are considered key instruments for further development of state administration system, creating favorable business environment, ensuring continuous economic growth and providing high level public services to the population.
In this context I would like to mention the importance of the implementation of the Interstate Program of Innovative Cooperation of the CIS Member States for the period up to 2030.
The activities of the common centers of scientific and technological research and developments, transfer of theoretical knowledge and practical skills through exchange of experience and joint projects will improve not only the investment atmosphere, but will allow to commercialize the technologies with the goal of entering the markets of 3rd countries.
Considering the inevitable development of digital technologies, due attention should be paid to the issues of legal protection of intellectual properties.
Adoption of the agreement on cooperation in the field of protection of copyright and related rights in information and communication networks will allow to consolidate the efforts of the CIS states aimed at the protection of rights of intellectual properties in the digital environment, confirm shared approaches and develop mechanisms for the protection of the rights of authors and copyright owners.
The Armenian side also supports the adoption of the submitted documents on systematic measures aimed at the further development of the defense capabilities of the CIS member states.
Dear participants of the session,
I cannot fail to note the role of the cultural aspect of our cooperation. Preservation of folk-art traditions, historical and cultural heritage, heritage in the field of art, literature, mastery of folk crafts and folk art are factors uniting the cooperation of our countries.
In this regard, we welcome the adoption of the program of events to hold the Year of Folk Art and Cultural Heritage in the CIS in 2022.
In conclusion, I would like to note that the Republic of Armenia will continue its active-constructive work, aiming to consistently promote joint initiatives aimed at mutually beneficial cooperation.
Thank you for attention”.
