On 20-21 April 2026, Ambassador Kevin Hamilton, the NATO Secretary General’s new Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, paid his first visit to Armenia. He was received by President Vahagn Khachaturyan, and held meetings with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Defence Minister Suren Papikyan, and Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan.

The Special Representative exchanged views with his interlocutors on a range of topics, such as the continued development of NATO’s partnership with Armenia, regional security including hybrid threats, connectivity, and the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process. Ambassador Hamilton hailed Armenia’s continued contributions the NATO-led peace-keeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR), and the ongoing work to modernise Armenia’s armed forces and strengthen their level of interoperability with NATO forces. 

NATO stands ready to further political dialogue and security and defence cooperation with Armenia.

During his visit, Ambassador Hamilton also met with representatives of Armenia’s civil society and of Allied Embassies in Yerevan.