Wednesday, 27 June 2007
RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan met with the delegation led by President of the Greek Republic Karolos Papulias who is in Armenia on a state visit.
Greeting the high-ranking guest and the members of his delegation, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan assured that within the limits of its powers, the Government of Armenia was prepared to take into effect all the arrangements reached between the Presidents of Armenia and Greece to the benefit of the two countries and friendly peoples. Serzh Sargsyan expressed gratitude for the assistance received so far from Greece in most various spheres, especially in the military one. The Prime Minister said that throughout his long experience in the field of national security, he used to be treated with warmth and friendship backed by strong willingness of collaboration each time he met with the leadership of the corresponding agency of Greece. Bearing on mind the wide experience and assisting capacity of Greece, the Prime Minister stressed the need of maintaining and expanding the bilateral cooperation, especially as Armenia was engaged in the implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan of NATO. Serge Sargsyan agreed with the Greek President in that there were not so many friendly countries bound by common interests in this complex region of ours, therefore efforts had to be combined in pursuit of the security and prosperity of each friendly nation.
President Karolos Papulias noted with regret that should such a hard-to-get-on-with neighbor as Turkey change and abide by European values, both Greece and Armenia would not have to allocate ever larger sums for security purposes at the expense of welfare spending. The Greek President said to be pleased with both the high-level of bilateral political relationship and the willingness of cooperation and close interaction of the two countries on the international scene. He noted that his country had built up certain expertise in the European integration and Euro-Atlantic cooperation affairs and was ready to back Armenia on the way to its foreign political targets.
During the meeting, the activity of the Armenian-Greek intergovernmental commission was emphasized on either side. As prospective areas of cooperation, the parties have mentioned agriculture, trade and tourism, education and the military sector as prioritized in the 5-year program of GoA's activities.
In conclusion, the President of Greece expressed conviction that quite similar in human resources, wisdom and aptitudes, the centuries-old peoples of Greece and Armenia, which had managed to overcome numerous hardships throughout their long history, would be able to record significant progress and have greater achievements in future by helping each other and strengthening the cooperation.
