Nikol Pashinyan Asks to Convey His Gratitude to Emmanuel Macron

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Secretary of State for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, and his delegation. This was announced by the Information and Public Relations Department of the Prime Minister's Office of Armenia.

A private meeting was held between the Prime Minister of Armenia and the French Secretary of State, followed by an expanded meeting. Welcoming the members of the French delegation, the Prime Minister noted: “Our meeting is taking place as a continuation of the agreement reached with President Macron and reflects the privileged relations between France and Armenia. There has traditionally existed a high level and warm dialogue between our countries, and I want to express our gratitude for the personal involvement shown by President Macron and Foreign Minister Le Drian since the very first day of the war. Of course, we have gone through a very heavy war, we have painful experiences connected with it, we have had a large number of casualties, and a very difficult situation has arisen. This visit is very important in terms of addressing the current challenges and also utilizing the opportunities created.”

“Our discussions and agenda also encompass economic and humanitarian aspects, and I ask you to convey my gratitude to President Macron for this quick response to our conversation and agreements,” he added.

Expressing gratitude for the warm hospitality, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne mentioned that the delegation included representatives from the French Treasury and the French Development Agency, and that the visit follows the agreement and discussions between the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of France. “It was very important for our President to respond as quickly as possible to each of your needs. In December, the focus was on urgency, which is why several aircraft providing humanitarian assistance arrived in Armenia carrying several tons of cargo, thanks to the joint efforts of various charitable associations and French local governments, which once again demonstrates the friendship between our two countries and peoples. After the urgency, as you mentioned, economic programs are now also being emphasized in both the medium-term and long-term, and in this regard, I want to thank everyone who has been having intensive meetings in sectoral agencies for the past week,” he stated.

The meeting addressed issues regarding the development of Armenia-France relations, including attracting investments and financial assistance. The bilateral economic partnership agenda was also discussed. The sides considered cooperation in the fields of transportation, reservoir construction, agriculture, high technology, digital innovations, and the digitization of the public sector to be promising, as well as the development of regional communications.

In this regard, the Prime Minister proposed to consider the possibility of developing a partnership between the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) and the French Development Agency, which the French side agreed with. Nikol Pashinyan also spoke about the expansion of educational cooperation, highlighting the successful example of the French University in Armenia. Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne noted that the French side, represented by President Macron, also values cooperation in higher education and finds it interesting to continue work in this direction. Ideas were exchanged about the prospects of academic expansion.

The parties agreed to establish a platform for ongoing communication for bilateral inter-agency working contact and to continue intensive work on mutually interesting programs.