Tuesday, 19 October 2004
Today RA Prime Minister A. Margaryan has received the delegation headed by Mr. Demetris Xristophias, speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus.
Mr. A. Margaryan congratulated his guests on their country's recent accession to the European Union and, at the same time, expressed deep regrets over the island's failure to enter the European Union as a single country. Highly appreciative of the current level of cooperation between Armenia and Cyprus, the two sides expressed themselves for their further expansion. Mr. A. Margaryan emphasized Armenia's interest in both getting acquainted with the Cyprian experience in EU-integration and in continuing collaboration within the European structures as, according to him, both countries enjoyed shared goals and interests. For his part, Mr. Xristophias witnessed the readiness of Cyprus, as a EU-member country, to support the integration efforts employed by Armenia following its inclusion in the European Neighborhood Policy.
The head of the Armenian government noted that the establishment of closer ties between respective Parliaments would be a strong impetus for the development of economic intercourse. In this regard, he emphasized the necessity of setting up an intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. The speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus was prompt to uphold this idea by noting that it was just high time to shift over from political wishes to practical steps. In the light of the business-friendly legal environment set up in Armenia, as well as taking into account the vast investment potential of Cyprus-based business companies, the Prime Minister invited Mr. Xristophias's attention to the possibility of effectuating sizeable investments into several fields of the Armenian economy, including the areas of tourism and banking in particular.
In mentioning the goodwill and kindness shown by local authorities to the Armenian community of Cyprus and the traditionally friendly ties between the two sides, Mr. A. Margaryan thanked the government of Cyprus for providing Armenian nationals with scholarships. In his turn, Mr. Xristophias pointed out to the fact that Armenia was at the top of the list of those CIS countries enjoying scholarships available to their citizens from the Cyprian government for their studies in such disciplines as management, tourism and banking and re-assured the Prime Minister that Armenia would further enjoy scholarships like this. The parties also noted the necessity of developing the cultural, educational and scientific cooperation, in particular through holding shows and exhibitions, workshops and symposia, the more so that an appropriate legal framework was effective between the two sides, namely the agreement on the cooperation in fields of culture, education and scientific research.
Also, at the meeting a reference was made of regional problems. In particular, concerning Turkey's membership to the European Union, the parties have agreed that the application of dual standards could undermine the settling of the problem, and Turkey had to meet all its commitments. In this context, the speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus said that following a visit paid to the Genocide Memorial Complex he proved to be filled with redoubled determination to support the process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
