U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the new comprehensive strategic partnership charter signed with Armenia is an opportunity to outline the future of the bilateral relationship and to create a new path for partnership and economic opportunity for Armenians and for Americans.

“The President [Trump] personally takes tremendous pride not simply in TRIPP, not simply in that, but in all of the other things we are continuing to build on,” Rubio said in Yerevan.

“It is going to be an important part of his legacy of a second term as President. And we’re here today to continue to work on that, which is why today, by renewing the Strategic Partnership Charter, it’s an opportunity to outline the future of the U.S.-Armenia bilateral relationship and to create a new path for partnership and economic opportunity for Armenians and for Americans. To put it in very simple terms, we are laying the groundwork for the sort of economic engagement that allows Armenians to make money and find prosperity, and Americans to do the same, and to do it together, which is one of the strongest ways to bind nations with one another. And always doing it in a way that respects your sovereignty as a nation, but in ways that are mutually beneficial. That’s how a bilateral relationship works best, when both countries see an advantage in working on things together, and where relationships become strategic. It is when you share a common vision for the future and realize that partnering with one another, you can help each other achieve that better future together,” he said.