The agreement on resuming the “Great Silk Road” will be the “Agreement of the Century” for Armenia, especially considering China’s involvement in the construction of Iran-Armenia railway. Nubar Chalmyan, Head of the Chair in the Department of Diplomatic Service and Communication, Faculty of International Relations at Yerevan State Linguistic University (YSLU), told Armenian News – NEWS.am correspondent.
He said that only a month ago he was in Moscow, where he took part in the international forum entitled “Silk Road: Cultural Cooperation.” The forum was attended by 300 guests from 16 countries of the world, which are included in the map of the “Great Silk Road.”
“4 countries from our region – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran – were represented [at the forum]. The great importance of resuming the “Silk Road” was stressed at the forum. As to Armenia, this is very important to us, since back in the middle ages Armenia was on that road and had trade relations with many countries,” Nubar Chalmyan said.
According to him, the resumption of this road in the 21st century is very important for Armenia, since the country will get the opportunity to have open borders to the external world. “We are ready – and the Chinese side also knows this – to provide them with our intellectual potential. The Armenian-Chinese relations over the last years showed that the Chinese value our scientific potential. The proof of this is, for instance, the launch of “Nairit-2” in China,” Chalmyan said.
The Professor also stressed that wide perspectives will open for Armenia thanks to the cooperation with Iran and China in the sphere of railway construction. “Speaking about the “Great Silk Road,” we must also suppose air routes. I’m sure Yerevan-Beijing and Yerevan-Shanghai flights will open,” Nubar Chalmyan said.
