Friday, 7 October 2005
Today RA Prime minister A. Margaryan has met with President of the Latvian Republic Vaira Vike - Freiberga.
Having expressed satisfaction at the current level of the Armenian-Latvian relationship, the parties emphasized the importance of continued bilateral contacts and high-level mutual visits. The prime minister said to be confident that this visit of President Vaira Vike-Freiberga would promote the further strengthening and deepening of political and economic ties between the two States.
Emphasizing the importance of Armenia's inclusion in the program of European Neighborhood which was supposed to raise on a new qualitative level Armenia's relationship with both the European Union and its member States, Prime Minister Margaryan noted that our country was prepared to consider the question of expanding bilateral ties with Latvia in the process of EU-Armenia Action Plan implementation. In his opinion, Latvia's long experience might be useful to Armenia on its way to European integration. At the same time, having expressed concern in connection with the deferment of the first stage of bilateral talks on the EU-Armenia joint action plan, the Prime minister mentioned that Armenia was looking forward to being supported by EU-member States, including Latvia, in the matter of the resumption of negotiations which, according to him, should not be stipulated by the divergencies existing between other countries, for instance - Cyprus and Azerbaijan.
For her part, President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga expressed readiness to render comprehensive assistance to Armenia with the achievement of the goals set for the European integration through the transfer of both success and failure experience. She has similarly noted that, in the context of the on-going globalization processes, Latvia was supportive of the idea of deailing individually with each State in search of integration.
Among our country's most important integration-related tasks, the Prime Minister mentioned the formation and training of relevant specialists, the holding of joint events in Yerevan or Riga with integrational agenda, the study of Latvia's experience in the matter of institutional reforms, efficiency-oriented local self-government system modernization etc. Also, the interlocutors have emphasized the necessity of establishing closer ties of cooperation between the representatives of the two countries both within the European structures and in the framework of international organizations.
The parties have exchanged opinions concerning the development of regional cooperation which, in their opinion, was crucial to the safety and stability in the region of Southern Caucasus. In this context, Prime minister A. Margaryan stressed the importance of Armenia's most active involvement in the economic programs carried out in the region under the aegis of the European Union which, in his opinion, would have a positive effect on the settlement of the existing conflicts, formation of an atmosphere of stability and trust in our region.
Armenia-NATO relations, too, were referred to during the conversation. Considering their development as a key constituent of the policy of eurointegration and maintenance of regional safety, the head of the Armenian government noted that our country was going to take maximum advantage of the program of individual cooperation with the NATO (IPAP) and, in this matter, too, expected Latvia's assistance.
The parties have also touched upon Armenian-Latvian economic collaboration which, in their opinion, was far behind the on-going political cooperation. Mr. A. Margaryan and H.E. Vaira Vike - Freiberga were unanimous that it was necessary to stimulate the development of mutually advantageous cooperation in various spheres of economy which, according to them, necessitated the creation of an appropriate legal framework with, in particular, the signing of working agreements in spheres of a customs affairs, mutual protection and encouragement of investments. In opinion of the parties, the furtherance of trade and economic relations and tourism between two countries would largely be promoted through establishment of direct ties between the respective business circles, small and average business, organization of regular flights Yerevan - Riga, etc.
At the close of the meeting, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Latvia exchanged opinions on the cooperation in spheres of security and defence and in legal, social, humanitarian and other areas.
