Rustam Badasyan Welcomes the Ambassador of the Netherlands

The Minister of Justice, Rustam Badasyan, received the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Armenia, Nicolas Schermers, today. This information was reported by the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia.

The minister congratulated the ambassador on his appointment and emphasized the significance of entering a new qualitative phase in bilateral relations since the Velvet Revolution of 2018, as well as the Netherlands' decision to open an embassy in Armenia.

Rustam Badasyan expressed confidence that during the ambassador's tenure, the existing potential in the field of justice will be utilized.

The Minister of Justice of Armenia also praised the recent approvals in the Dutch Parliament for motions calling for sanctions against the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey for military crimes committed in Artsakh. In this context, Rustam Badasyan highlighted, “The Netherlands demonstrated how democracy truly operates when human lives and rights are at risk.”

Ambassador Schermers thanked for the meeting, noting that he was very pleased to accept the offer to undertake a diplomatic mission in Armenia. He highlighted the priorities that have the potential for cooperation, including the rule of law and strengthening democracy.

Minister Badasyan presented to the Dutch ambassador the roadmap for judicial reforms, the achievements already recorded, and emphasized the €9 million support allocated by the European Union to the Armenian government for implementing initiatives aimed at this goal.

Referring to the visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2020 and the progress made regarding the agreements reached as a result, Minister Badasyan noted that significant achievements include negotiations for the signing of an agreement on cooperation with Eurojust and the ongoing work on the legal framework for cooperation between the Police of Armenia and Europol.

The meeting also discussed the possibilities for deepening cooperation in the fields of probation and the correctional system. The parties reached an agreement on effective cooperation.