SPEAKER OF RA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PAYS OFFICIAL VISIT TO CHINA

Noyan Tapan

Dec 16, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The delegation headed by the
speaker of the RA National Assembly Hovik Abrahamian was received
by the chairman of the Standing Committee of All-Chinese Assembly U
Bango on December 15. The Armenian ambassador to China Armen Sargsyan
was present at the meeting.

According to the RA National Assembly PR Department, U. Bango stated
that this visit will become a new stimulus for developing the relations
between the two countries.

H. Arahamian said that the speaker of the Chinese parliament was
expected to pay a visit to Yerevan in May, but the destructive
earthquake prevented Mr. U Bango from leaving China. Conveying the
Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan’s regards and wishes of success to
the Chinese president Hu Jintao, Hovik Abrahamian asked to pass to him
the invitation to come on an official visit to Armenia. He underlined
that the traditional friendly links of the Armenian and Chinese peoples
are continuing nowadays, which is evident from the political dialog and
mutual visits at the high level, the consistent expansion and deepening
of mutually beneficial cooperation in the social-political, economic,
scientific and cultural spheres. The cooperation and mutual assistance
at the international level have deepened the trust of the sides. The
speaker of the RA National Assembly attached special importance to
the joint projects being implemented in such spheres as chemistry,
energy, agriculture, science and technology, defence, and culture.

Speaking about interparliamentary relations, H. Abrahamian said that
deputy friendship groups function at two parliaments, expressing
his support for promotion of their activities. He pointed out that
Armenia attaches great importance to consistent development of
friendship and cooperation with China, and considerable potential
exists in this respect, taking the opportunities of two countries
into consideration. He underlined the importance of identifying new
possibilities of cooperation under conditions of the global financial
crisis, which will help reduce the impact of the crisis. H. Abrahamian
invited U. Bango to pay an official visit to Armenia.

The chairman of the Standing Committee of the All-Chinese Assembly
U. Bango said that he will pass the invitation of the Armenian
president to Hu Jintao. Mr. Bango also restated his intention to
visit Armenia which was delayed by the earthquake. He noted the
significance of the Declaration on Cooperation signed by the presidents
of two countries in 2004, after which the bilateral relations began
developing rapidly. It was mentioned that the bilateral cooperation
has given good results in the economic sphere as well: in particular,
the trade growth made 51% last year. U. Bango expressed a high
opinion about cooperation in energy and mining industry. The Chinese
government allocated gratis 15 million yuans to Armenia with the
aim of encouraging economic cooperation. Noting that Armenia is a
reliable partner for China, U. Bango spoke about the necessity to
establish closer interparliamentary links. He expressed satisfaction
at the fact that during his visit, the speaker of the RA National
Assembly will also go to Hainan Province famous for its dynamically
developing industry: chemical industry, mechanical engineering,
petroleum industry, tourism, adding that programs on foundation of
joint ventures may be worked out as a result of this visit.

During the meeting H. Abrahamian and U. Bangi signed a memorandum of
mutual understanding, cooperation and exchange of experience, restating
the willingness to develop friendly relations and cooperation. Noting
that interparliamentary links are an essential component of
interstate relations, the memorandum emphasizes the importance of
making contacts of the parliaments more active both in the bilateral
and multilateral formats in order to strengthen mutual understanding
and trust and increase the scope of common opinions. The memorandum
asserts a willingness to deepen the coordination of consultations and
positions on bilateral and international relations. The memorandum
stresses the importance of encouraging contacts of the parliamentary
committees, exchanging legislative experience in trade, economic,
agricultural, energy, educational, cultural and environmental spheres,
and establishing closer links between the friendship groups. The
memorandum pays great attention to cooperation of the two parliaments
in terms of international relations by organizing frequent meetings
of delegations and consultations at international organizations.

In the words of the speakers of the parliaments of Armenia and China,
this memorandum is the first document between the two parliaments
and opens a new page of cooperation in interparliamentary relations.