VARTAN OSKANIAN HIGHLY ESTIMATES RESULTS OF COOPERATION WITH EUROPE IN 2006

Noyan Tapan
Jan 09 2007

YEREVAN, JANUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The year 2006 was remarkable for
Armenia in the respect of new progress in cooperation with European
organizations. RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian declared this at the
January 9 press conference. "We continue to attach key importance to
development and deepening of cooperation with Europe," the Minister
emphasized. He especially mentioned Armenia’s cooperation with the
European Union, Council of Europe and NATO.

With regard to the EU New Neighborhood Program, the agreement on
implementation of which was signed in spring last year, V.Oskanian
declared that it "enables Armenia to establish political, economic
and cultural relations with Europe." In his words, the most important
article of Armenia’s cooperation with EU is bilateral trade, as EU
is Armenia’s biggest commercial partner. In January-September 2006
trade circulation between EU and RA amounted to 766 mln USD, which
is more by 12 percents as compared with 2005.

V.Oskanian reported that in 2007 we will continue cooperating with
the Council of Europe, in particular, in the sphere of reforming the
legislation. He also highly estimated Armenia’s cooperation with
NATO within the framework of the Individual Partnership Actions
Plan (IPAP). The Minister reported that in the current year NATO
is to analyse and sum up the results of the first year of IPAP’s
implementation.