Friday, 22 June 2007
RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan received NATO Secretary General's Special Envoy for South Caucasus Robert Simmons. First, Mr. Simmons forwarded to the Prime Minister of Armenia NATO Secretary General's congratulations on his re-appointment to the office of RA Prime Minister.
With reference to the development of the political dialogue and NATO-Armenia cooperation, the parties noted the importance of the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), which covers all areas of cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance. The Prime Minister said that the departments engaged in the commission responsible for the implementation of said Action Plan continued making efforts towards the realization of the working program of IPAP. Serzh Sargsyan noted that the Government of Armenia was going to allocate the required financial means and would concentrate its efforts upon program effectiveness in accordance with the established time-table.
The head of the Government of Armenia stated the importance of NATO's support to the reforms aiming the increase of Armenia's Armed Forces' fighting capacity and the formation of a defense system in line with the modern standards. In this connection, Mr. Simmons spoke in praise of Armenia's progressive steps for army reform and assured that the Alliance was going to continue backing the reforms. He expressed satisfaction at the passing of the RA National Security Strategy and, in this context, emphasized the need of developing a military doctrine, for which the Alliance was ready to provide Armenia with the necessary expertise and assist it by means of consultations.
The Prime Minister informed that the program of government activities for the next five years, too, accorded an important place to the national security strategy. The program stipulated that that it had been developed based on this strategy.
During the meeting, it has also been noted that the designation of an officer responsible for the cooperation with NATO would provide an additional stimulus and necessary liaising for the development of sustained partnership between Armenia and the North Atlantic Alliance.
The parties similarly mentioned the importance of founding a crisis management center in Armenia for which effective discussions had already been held with the Rescue Service of the Republic of Armenia. Considering the positive shifts recorded in this area and the wealth of Armenia's know-how, Mr. Simmons said that a seminar was susceptible to be held in Yerevan involving the countries of South Caucasus and Central Asia, dedicated to the possibilities for the furtherance cooperation in the sphere of crisis management. Also, the need of expanding the cooperation in the information sector was stressed on either side. With respect to IPAP implementation, Mr. Simmons characterized GoA's activity by two important factors - the transparency of development and realization processes, as well as the efficiency of the interagency commission.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the NATO Secretary General's Special Envoy for South Caucasus touched upon Armenia's involvement in peace-making actions. The Head of the GoA stressed that our country was prepared to take an active part in these activities. Then, Serzh Sargsyan asked his guest about the latest developments in the matter of Kosovo independence.
In conclusion of the meeting, both sides reiterated their readiness to maintain and build on the bilateral cooperation.
