Foreign Minister of Canada Anita Anand, currently in Armenia as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s delegation for the European Political Community Summit, visited the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial on Sunday.

Minister Anand laid flowers at the Eternal Flame in honor of the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims.

The Canadian foreign minister then visited the Armenian Genocide Museum. She was accompanied by Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting on Sunday with President of Bulgaria Iliana Iotova.

The Prime Minister welcomed President Iotova and her delegation to Armenia on the occasion of their participation in the 8th European Political Community Summit, according to a readout issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Pashinyan congratulated Iotova on assuming the office of President of the Republic of Bulgaria and wished her success.

PM Pashinyan noted that relations between the two countries are at a high level of political dialogue and that this will be formalized today through the signing of a document establishing the strategic nature of bilateral relations.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Armenia–Bulgaria relations have significant potential. He also expressed gratitude to Bulgaria for its support for Armenia within the framework of the European Union.

President Iotova thanked the Armenian side for the warm welcome and for hosting the European Political Community Summit. She noted that the EPC Summit has achieved tangible results since its establishment. The Bulgarian President also congratulated the Armenian Prime Minister on the upcoming EU–Armenia Summit.

The agenda for the further development of Armenia–Bulgaria relations and various topics of regional significance were also discussed.

At the end of the meeting, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Iliana Iotova signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Bulgaria.

President of Greece Konstantinos Tasoulas has arrived in Armenia to participate in the 8th European Political Community (EPC) Summit in Yerevan.

He was welcomed at Zvartnots Airport by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Armenia to participate in the 8th European Political Community (EPC) Summit in Yerevan.

He was welcomed at Zvartnots Airport by Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan.

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola said leaders at the EPC Summit in Yerevan will discuss further integration with allies and partners, as well as the fight against hybrid threats.

Speaking at a press briefing ahead of the EPC Summit, Metsola thanked Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for hosting the event and recalled that just days ago, the European Parliament had adopted a resolution by an overwhelming majority welcoming Armenia’s commitment to strong democracy and European values.

Metsola highlighted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s participation in the EPC summit.

“We will discuss fighting disinformation and hybrid threats. These are no longer remote risks. It is something that the European Parliament is particularly committed on working with stakeholders to make sure that these are stamped out because they are a real threat to democracy. Wars are not only fought on the ground, but they’re also fought in the digital sphere, and they undermine and target the most vulnerable parts of our society. So in this regard, our commitment is also to work with social platforms,” she said, highlighting the need to make sure that tools that were created to bring people together, are not abused.

“Finally, on artificial intelligence, we are aware of the concerns, but those do not stop us from using artificial intelligence, actually, to solve the problems and the challenges that we have in order to make sure that our democracies are protected.”

President of Moldova Maia Sandu said on Monday that the EU integration path is the most important project for her country.

“We would like to discuss how to better protect our democracies. We would like to express our support to Ukraine. And Moldova is going to discuss again with its EU partners Moldova’s EU integration path. This is the most important project for us,” she told reporters in Yerevan ahead of the 8th European Political Community Summit.

“Europe needs to become stronger. Europe believes in democracy. Europe has been teaching all of us how to support the democratic values, how to build democracies. And I’m sure that Europe will continue to grow stronger and will continue to be the most democratic part of the world,” President Sandu added.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan lauded the opening of the Belgian Embassy in Yerevan as a reflection of the growing relations between the two countries.

Pashinyan and his Belgian counterpart, Bart De Wever, attended the opening ceremony of the Embassy of Belgium in Yerevan on Monday morning.

Pashinyan noted that Armenia and Belgium share long-standing historical ties, which now form the basis for modern cooperation focused on strengthening democracy, the rule of law, and democratic institutions in Armenia. He emphasized that democracy brings prosperity and success to citizens and the country, and thanked Belgium for its support in achieving these goals.

In his remarks, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever emphasized that there is a large Armenian community in Belgium, which continues to serve as a living bridge between the two countries. Highlighting the opening of the embassy, he described it as a historic moment and said Belgium is proud to establish its presence in Armenia, calling it one of the cradles of civilization. He stressed that the embassy is not only a symbol of long-standing bilateral ties, but also a commitment to the future, aimed at strengthening cooperation in business, innovation, technology, infrastructure, and scientific exchange.

Armenia plays an important role as a partner for stability and serves as a beacon of democratic values in the wider region, the Belgian prime minister said.

Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković has emphasized the political and economic significance of Armenia hosting the European Political Community Summit, as well as the first-ever Armenia-EU summit.

“I think it’s a very strong message to Armenia,” he told reporters ahead of the EPC Summit in Yerevan. “The fact that the European Political Community summit is held first time in Yerevan is an important signal. Also the EU-Armenia summit is an important signal for Armenia. I think that the topics that are on the agenda clearly reflect the current global situation, current major European issues, whether it’s competitiveness, whether it’s connectivity, whether it’s energy, whether it’s technological advancement, whether it’s migration issues. And I believe it’s a very positive signal for our host country,” the Croatian PM said.

Referring to regional connectivity, the Croatian Prime Minister said that transport and energy corridors play an important role not only in Europe but also in ensuring the development and peace of South Caucasus countries.

“I believe that the entire transportation of energy, of goods, of open transit, of investing into the relevant infrastructure, is critically important for the development and peace in this part of Europe, important also for all the states that are in the Caucasus,” he said.

He added that the eastern and southern parts of Europe should strengthen cooperation with other parts of the world, with connectivity projects seen as an important component of this effort.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has arrived in Yerevan to participate in the 8th European Political Community Summit.

Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan welcomed Sánchez at Zvartnots Airport.

Sánchez had been expected to arrive on Sunday, but his plane made an emergency landing in Ankara, Türkiye due to a technical issue while en route from Madrid to Yerevan, delaying his trip.

EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas highlighted that Armenia “makes its own” decisions when asked about the country’s potential EU membership bid.

“Armenia makes its own decisions. There are elections here in a month. Of course, the European perspective is on the table, and Armenia will decide for itself,” the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission told reporters ahead of the EPC Summit in Yerevan.