ROMANIAN PRESIDENT VISITS ARMENIA
By Ruzanna Stepanian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 4 2006
Romania’s President Traian Basescu was in Armenia Wednesday on a
two-day official visit aimed at strengthening ties between the two
post-Communist states.
Basescu went straight into talks with his Armenian counterpart Robert
Kocharian on his arrival in Yerevan. The two men presided over the
signing of several bilateral agreements, including a memorandum of
understanding on "European and Euro-Atlantic cooperation."
Kocharian said Romania’s upcoming entry to the European Union and
Armenia’s participation in the EU’s European Neighborhood Policy
program will give a new impetus to Romanian-Armenian ties. "I think
these two process open new opportunities for cooperation between our
countries," he told a joint news conference with Basescu.
Basescu, who is the third Romanian head of state to visit Yerevan
during Kocharian’s presidency, said his country will seek to facilitate
Armenia’s European integration after securing EU membership next
January. He also said Romanian companies are taking interest in
investing in Armenia.
Kocharian complained in that regard about the modest volume of
bilateral trade, criticizing the work of a Romanian-Armenian
intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. He said the
commission should do more to boost commercial links between the
two nations.