Pashinyan and Italy's Prime Minister Discuss Lebanon and Nagorno-Karabakh Issues

Italy is Armenia's second largest trading partner in the EU. This was stated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a press conference after a private meeting with Giuseppe Conte, the President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy.

"I am pleased to note that this year there has been tangible dynamics in this sector. There are all the necessary preconditions to enrich Armenian-Italian trade relations with new content. Armenia's membership in the EAEU and close cooperation with the EU create fertile ground for attracting investments," Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister noted that both sides highly evaluated the work of the Armenian-Italian intergovernmental commission, expressing hope that the next meeting of the commission could be held in Yerevan in the near future.

Speaking about the outcomes of the negotiations with the Italian Prime Minister, Pashinyan mentioned that it is desirable for Italy to be more involved in Armenia's education system, which would facilitate a better understanding of Italian culture and history in Armenia.

The meeting of the two countries' prime ministers did not bypass the topic of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "I presented to my partner the current state of affairs regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, reaffirming Armenia's readiness to continue working towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group," Pashinyan stated.

The partners also discussed Armenia's peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, carried out under the Italian command of UN peacekeeping forces, which both sides see as an example of mutual respect and trust between the two countries.

"We exchanged views on the Syrian crisis and expressed concern over the invasion of northeastern Syria by the armed forces of Turkey," the Armenian Prime Minister disclosed.

Nikol Pashinyan also expressed confidence that the meeting with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy would provide a new optimistic impetus to bilateral relations and that the Armenian-Italian agenda would be enriched with new initiatives.

It should be noted that from November 20-22, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, accompanied by his wife Anna Hakobyan, is on an official visit to the Republic of Italy.