CYPRUS TO SUPPORT ARMENIA IN ITS EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
Noyan Tapan news agency
18 Oct 04
YEREVAN
A delegation led by the president of the House of Representatives of
Cyprus, Dhimitrios Khristofias, is in Armenia on a two-day (18-20)
official visit at the invitation of Armenian Speaker Artur
Bagdasaryan.
The speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Artur Bagdasaryan, met
the president of the House of Representatives of Cyprus, Dhimitrios
Khristofias, on 18 October. The sides said that strategic cooperation
is being established between the two republics which have no
disagreements in relations, but there is potential which has not yet
been fully used. They noted the importance of continued cooperation
through international structures and also support by Cyprus, as a
member of the European Union for Armenia as a country involved in the
programme Expanded Europe: New Neighbours. The speakers of the two
countries talked about future cooperation.
The members of the House of Representatives and also members of a
business delegation led by Dhimitrios Khristofias met Speaker of the
Armenian National Assembly Artur Bagdasaryan, the deputy speakers of
the Armenian parliament, Tigran Torosyan and Vaan Ovanesyan, and heads
of the faction-groups and commissions of the Armenian National
Assembly.
The press service of the Armenian National Assembly told Noyan Tapan
news agency that a number of agreements has been reached during the
meeting. They also noted the importance of interregional and
interparliamentary cooperation in international structures, Cyprus’s
support for the process of Armenia’s integration into Europe within
the framework of the programme Expanded Europe: New Neighbours.
It was also decided to set up a group which would tackle the
abovementioned issues. It was noted that the Cyprus government will
continue training Armenian students for the tourism industry. They
expressed concern about the fate of the Cyprus educational institution
named after Melkonyan. It was noted that the Cyprus government is
taking steps to preserve this educational institution. Special
attention was paid to deepening relations in the cultural-educational
sphere and to sharing experience. They also stressed the efficiency of
the Armenia-Cyprus interparliamentary cooperation commission.
Touching upon Turkey’s membership of the European Union (EU), the
sides noted that the application of double standards does not help
solve the problem and Turkey may join the EU if it fulfils all the
commitments.