Tuesday, 13 November 2007
RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan received the delegation headed by Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Sergey Stanishev who is in Armenia on official visit.
After the Prime Ministers' private talks, the delegations of the two countries came together in an enlarged meeting to discuss a broad range of issues concerning the Armenian-Bulgarian relations and the cooperation in different fields.
Greeting the RB Prime Minister-led delegation, Serzh Sargsyan said that our country prioritizes the development of the Armenian-Bulgarian relationship both in the partnership format and under the European Neighborhood Policy which is a priority to Armenia. He expressed confidence that the present visit of the Bulgarian Prime Minister will promote the strengthening of the relationship between the two States and peoples.
Getting down to the agenda of mutual interest, the parties have stated that the bilateral relations have a clear-cut focus and an upwards dynamics, as a whole. The head of the Armenian government stressed that Bulgaria is a friendly country which maintains diversified historical and cultural ties with Armenia. The parties have agreed in that following Bulgaria's accession to the EU, together with the entire South Caucasian region, Armenia has become a next-door neighbor to the European Union through the Black Sea corridor to enjoy new opportunities for the expansion of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
Sergey Stanishev has mentioned that his current stay in Armenia is the first official visit paid to our country for the last one and a half decade by a Bulgarian prime minister, accompanied with such a large delegation featuring several members of parliament. He said that over the past few years, Bulgaria has been engaged in serious reforms which have led to his country's accession to NATO and the European Union. According to him, Bulgaria is currently seeking to activate its relations with other countries, especially with the traditionally friendly ones inclusive of Armenia. The RB Prime Minister said to be convinced that in its capacity of EU- and NATO- member country, Bulgaria might be of certain service to Armenia by handing down the expertise built up on the way to European integration. He said to be aware of Armenia's having prepared a number of cooperation programs under the European Neighborhood Policy and assured of Bulgaria's willingness to back them during the implementation stage.
According to Sergey Stanishev, close working ties have been shaped between the respective government agencies of the two countries in recent years and, in this respect, he emphasized the fact of having to sign a number of important instruments during his stay, inclusive of the arrangement on the establishment of an intergovernmental commission and mentioned that this is only the start-up of a far-reaching process with the bulk of the tasks having to be addressed in future.
With reference to bilateral trade and economic exchanges, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria noted that while the level of trade turnover has considerably increased since the start of this year, it actually falls short of the expectations and much of the existing potential remains unused. In this context, he suggested organizing a business forum in Sofia next year.
Having accepted the proposal with pleasure, Serzh Sargsyan emphasized the need of proper preparation of the forum and said that it would be expedient to hold the opening session of the newly established intergovernmental commission prior to the business forum with the involvement of the respective business circles so as they might find interests in common and a common ground for cooperation.
Emphasizing the role of cultural cooperation in the deepening of the political and economic ties between the two States and peoples, the head of the Armenian government proposed to hold Days of Bulgarian Culture in Yerevan next year like the Days of Armenian Culture were held in Sofia in 2004. Sergey Stanishev said that the Armenian community of Bulgaria and the people of Armenia, as a whole, the history and the culture of Armenia enjoy a very warm treatment in his country as many Bulgarian citizens of Armenian origin have contributed to the development of culture in Bulgaria. Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan in turn expressed gratitude for immortalizing the memory of Armenian heroes by means of monuments.
The parties have also discussed questions bearing on the strengthening of the cross-country legal framework, the resumption of direct air service between the two countries, the development of tourism, especially in terms of providing equal terms for visa requirements applicable to tourists from Armenia and other countries.
The meeting was followed by a document signing ceremony, during which RA Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development Vahe Danielyan and RB Deputy Minister of Economy and Energy Yavor Kuyumjiyev signed an agreement between the two governments on the establishment of an Armenian-Bulgarian intergovernmental commission on economic and scientific cooperation. RA Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Baiburdyan and RB Deputy Foreign Minister Eugenia Koldanova signed a similar agreement on the repatriation of such nationals of the two countries as may be residing in Bulgaria and Armenia on irregular terms. RA Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Armen Grigoryan and Head of Bulgaria's State Agency for Sports and Youth Affairs Vesela Lecheva signed two agreements: on cooperation in the field youth policy and on cooperation in field of physical training and sports. RA Deputy Minister of Agriculture Samvel Avetisyan and RB Deputy Minister of Husbandry and Food Svetlana Bachvarova have signed an arrangement between the RA Ministry of Agriculture and the RB Ministry of Husbandry and Food on joint action to be carried out in this area.
The document signing ceremony was followed by the joint press conference of the two Prime Ministers.
