11:45, 1 June 2023
CHISINAU, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. The opening ceremony of the second European Political Community Summit has kicked off in Chisinau, Moldova. The summit is held at the Mimi Castle in Bulboaca, located 35 km away from the Moldovan capital.
President of Moldova Maia Sandu is welcoming the participating heads of state and government.
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan is also participating in the summit.
The membership of the European Political Community has grown since the first Summit in 2022. Invitations to attend the second EPC Summit were extended to 47 heads of State and Government, as well as to the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the President of the European Parliament.
The European Political Community (EPC) is a platform for political coordination among European countries across the continent. It aims to promote political dialogue and cooperation to address issues of common interest and to strengthen the security, stability, and prosperity of the European continent.
The Republic of Moldova is hosting the second Summit of the EPC on 1 June 2023. This Summit will build on the foundations of the initial EPC gathering that took place in Prague in October 2022. The EPC Summits are organized on a rotating basis by each participating country with the host alternating between an EU and non-EU member state. This is the first EPC Summit hosted by a non-EU country.
The discussions of the second EPC Summit will focus on three main topics: joint efforts for peace and security; energy resilience and climate action; and interconnections in Europe for a better connected and more stable continent.
As part of the summit, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan will have a five-sided meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, President of the European Council Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Pashinyan held EU-mediated talks with Aliyev, together with French President Emmanuel Macon and President of the European Council Charles Michel during the first summit in Prague in 2022. The Armenian PM also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the 2022 summit.
