Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today received Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria Ekaterina Zakharieva.

The Prime Minister noted that high-level meetings of a dynamic nature contribute to the development of political dialogue between the two countries and the realization of new opportunities for revitalizing economic ties. In this context, Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the importance of holding the session of the Armenian-Bulgarian intergovernmental commission in March this year and the business forum within its framework.

“Armenia attaches importance to the deepening of cooperation with Bulgaria both bilaterally and within the EU framework. The European Union is one of the most important partners of Armenia’s democratic reform agenda, and the strengthening of relations with Bulgaria, the exchange of experience with Eastern European countries follows from that logic,” the head of government said, expressing gratitude to Bulgaria for the rapid ratification of the RA-EU Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement. Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the role of the Armenian community in Bulgaria in strengthening bilateral ties.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria also noted that the high-level official contacts and discussions between the two countries, which have been quite active recently, testify to the mutual importance attached to Armenian-Bulgarian ties.

“Bulgaria supports Armenia’s democratic development agenda, the expansion of the RA-EU partnership and is ready to share its accumulated experience in the reform process. It is no coincidence that Bulgaria was one of the first EU countries to ratify the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement,” Ekaterina Zakhariyeva noted.

The Prime Minister of Armenia and the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria referred to the process of visa liberalization with the European Union, talked about the importance of democratic reforms, the fight against corruption, the judicial system, and the importance of exchanging experience in the process of structural reforms. The perspectives of initiatives of regional significance were also discussed.

The interlocutors discussed issues of development of trade and economic ties. In the context of recording a new level of economic cooperation, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the launch of direct air communication, which will contribute to the activation of business contacts, tourist visits, as well as considered the projects in the fields of transport, information technology, infrastructure and other sectors as promising. Ekaterina Zakhariyeva agreed with the RA Prime Minister, noting that direct air communication will promote the development of mutual trade, investment, and tourism ties. An agreement was reached on these and the above-mentioned subject results about things to do.

The parties exchanged ideas on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The Prime Minister expressed gratitude for Bulgaria’s balanced position and emphasized that Armenia sees the settlement of the conflict through peaceful negotiations within the framework of the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group. Ekaterina Zakhariyeva reaffirmed Bulgaria’s balanced position regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and noted that Bulgaria supports the peace negotiation process under the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship mandate.