President Serzh Sargsyan praised the steadily developing partnership and dialogue between France and Armenia as he convened and chaired a working session to address the bilateral economic cooperation agenda.
According to a press release by the Presidential Office, Armenian Ambassador to France Vigen Chitechyan delivered a report at the meeting to sum up the recent years’ developments and achievements in the Franco-Armenian relations. The meeting focused especially on the current level of the economic ties and potentials to develop the mutually beneficial partnership in different areas.
The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Head of the Armenia-France Parliamentary Friendship Group Ara Babloyan, Minister of Economy Artsvik Minasyan and responsible official from the Presidential Office.
“It is essential to note that the political dialogue over the past years has imparted a new quality to the Franco-Armenian relations, with the scientific-educational, cultural and trade-economic sectors becoming more active and the legal-contractual domain expanding further to cover over 40 agreements,” he said.
Appreciating the French-Armenian Development Agency’s active work in Armenia, the president noted that Armenia has a good potential to develop further its relations with the country.
“I am also aware of the plans to arrange meetings with representatives of the business community this year to collaborate on the business platform. But the conduct of such events only once or twice per year is simply unsatisfactory. I think we have to impart a new spirit to the Armenia Development Foundation to make it work actively in not only France but also across the globe. Our government institutions, however, cannot work adequately in other countries if questions as these are not under our ambassadors’ spotlight. We have long been making calls for having working plans and an economic program in embassies. A deputy foreign minister will be appointed today to coordinate our foreign economic relations and intergovernmental committees’ work, and deal purely with economic relations,” the president said.
At the end of the meeting, he asked the minister of economy to examine the French-funded companies’ capital and future projects to offer them the best possible assistance in future activities.
