ARMENIA AND EU MEMBER STATES TO HAVE MAXIMUM BENEFITS FROM EASTERN PARTNERSHIP PROJECT

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.12.2009 20:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Foreign Ministers from EU member states and Eastern
Partnership countries will meet Tuesday in Brussels to conduct the
first round of their talks.

During his visit to Stockholm, Armenian FM Edward Nalbandyan met with
his Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt.

"Armenia attaches great importance to cooperation with the European
Union and its Member States. The Eastern Partnership initiative
provides a new framework for this relationship through enhanced
political dialogue, increased trade opportunities and people-to-people
contacts. Another added value of the Eastern Partnership is that
it supports cooperation among the partner states, which is can be
critical to the overall success of the initiative. At this first
ministerial meeting we will take stock of the progress achieved and
I look forward to productive discussions with my colleagues on the
perspectives of our future cooperation," Armenian top diplomat said

According to him, the Eastern Partnership not only reflects the
progress achieved in relations between Armenia and the EU in the last
decade, but also offers the perspective of an Association Agreement,
which will adapt Armenia’s cooperation to the new realities and will
take into consideration the aspirations of each partner state and
the European Union.

Commenting upon Armenia’s possible advantages within project
frameworks, Armenian FM noted, "Cooperation presupposes common values
and interests. Armenia and EU member states will have maximum benefits
from the project. For us, a priority issue is the relaxation of visa
regime, which will enable people to broaden cooperation frameworks."