INDIA, ARMENIA SIGN MOU ON PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION
Sify, India
Oct 6 2005
Yerevan: Giving a boost to their close and friendly relations,
India and Armenia on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding
to intensify and promote cooperation between the parliaments of the
two countries.
The MoU on parliamentary cooperation was signed by secretary
(Coordination) Vijay Kumar and Hayk Kotayan, secretary general of
the Armenian National Assembly, in the presence of Vice-President
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
The pact was signed soon after Shekhawat’s arrival in this picturesque
country — the smallest of the republics that came into existence
after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 — on a two-day visit
on the last leg of his three-nation tour.
The two sides are also scheduled to initial a Protocol of Exchange
of Instruments on Friendship and Cooperation on Friday.
Shekhawat, who is the first Indian Vice-President to visit the country,
was given the honour of addressing the National Assembly at its special
session on Thursday, signifying the excellent bilateral relations.
The Vice-President had detailed discussions with Armenian President
Robert Kocharian whose country endorses India’s permanent membership
in the UN Security Council. Armenia supports India’s stand that the
Kashmir issue should be resolved bilaterally within the framework of
the Simla agreement.
The two countries have so far signed as many as 18 agreements in
diverse fields ranging from cooperation in Information Technology,
science and technology to defence.