GREEK DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER DESCRIBES ARMENIA AS “BEST PARTNER”
Armenpress
Mar 29 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS: Armenian agriculture minister
David Lokian, who is also a cochairman of the Armenian-Greek
intergovernmental commission on economic, industrial, technical and
research cooperation, described today Greece as ‘a country that has
been Armenia’s friend for centuries.”
Addressing the 4-th session of the commission that opened today in
Yerevan Lokian said today Greece has serious presence in Armenia. He
said this level of relationships may sometimes result in what he
described as ‘deviations,’ saying also that one of the goal of
this commission is to settle problems that arise. He said president
Kocharian’s visit to Greece last November gave a fresh push to boosting
various-level bilateral contacts and ties. Lokian said he hoped that
all major and minor discrepancies existing in bilateral relations
will be papered over during the meeting.
Greek deputy foreign minister Evripides Styliandis, the Greek
cochairman of the commission, said the Greek party would work to
promote political and economic relations with Armenia. “We shall
resolve all problems inherited from the past and will try to breath in
new life into our economic relationships and raise them to the level
of political interaction,’ he said, adding that part of these problems
had been discussed and there was hope that they would be settled. Mr.
Styliandis also said his government would help Armenia to take forward
its Plan of Actions developed to boost relations with EU as part of its
European Neighborhood Program (ENP). He then emphasized the role of
the Armenian community of Greece in attracting new Greek investments
to Armenia, saying Greek investments in Armenia have reached now 1
billion euros.
‘Armenia is one of the best friends and partners of Greece,” he
said. The session will continue on March 30. The Greek delegation
is expected to visit the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, meet with
prime minister Andranik Margarian, Armenian Catholicos Karekin II
and president Robert Kocharian.