Baltic News Service / – BNS
February 9, 2019 Saturday 11:22 AM EET
Estonian ForMin to Armenian colleague: Armenia should continue reforms
Estonian formin to Armenian colleague: Armenia should continue reforms
TALLINN, Feb 09, BNS – Estonian Foreign Minister Sven Mikser on Friday met with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, who is currently on an official visit to Estonia, and highlighted the need for Armenia to continue its reform course.
"The new Armenian government has expressed its wish for enhanced cooperation with the European Union and there is a lot of potential for cooperation between our [two] states, too," Mikser said.
The foreign ministers agreed that the opportunities posed by the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) must be put to good use.
Mikser also highlighted the importance of staying on the course when it comes to Armenia's reforms.
"We commend Armenia for implementing reforms aimed at strengthening democracy as well as fighting against corruption, and we hope for smooth continuation of the process," Mikser said, adding that Estonia will be more than happy to share its experience in implementing reforms.
"This year, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership, which has always been Estonia's priority, and will continue to be in the future, too. From our side, we would like to strengthen the political dimension of the Eastern Partnership and attain more tangible results, for instance in the context of the four freedoms of the European Union, which would motivate our partners, including Armenia, to move forward with the reforms," Mikser said.
Mnatsakanyan also participated in the international Eastern Partnership conference in Tallinn on Friday.
Mikser noted Armenia's significant progress in the context of implementing e-governance.
"Innovation and e-governance are significant key words from the perspective of increasing cooperation between our governments as well as our IT companies," Mikser said,
The parties also expressed their wish to increase trade, which has so far remained at a low level, but has started exhibiting sings of growth in the past few years.