State visit of President Serzh Sargsyan to the Hellenic Republic

At the invitation of the President of Greece Karolos Papoulias, on January 18 President Serzh Sargsyan and Mrs. Rita Sargsyan arrived to the Hellenic Republic on a state visit.
After the official ceremony of welcoming the President of Armenia, Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Karolos Papoulias held a private meeting, which was followed by the meeting with the participation of the delegations.

The leaders of the two countries discussed issues pertinent to the steadfast development of the Armenian-Greek high level political dialogue, enhancement of cooperation in the economic, trade, military, culture and other areas, intensification of cooperation in the framework of the EU Eastern Partnership program, as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest and discussed the latest developments in the NK peace process.

In the framework of the Presidential visit to Greece there also took place a document signing ceremony, aimed at fostering cooperation and strengthening ties in a number of areas. In particular, signed were the “Agreement between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia and Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Greece on military cooperation”, the “Program of cooperation between the Government of the RA and the Government of the RoG in the areas of education, science and culture for 2011-2013”, the “Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Culture of the RA and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the RoG on organization before year 2012 of the Days of the Armenian Culture in the Republic of Greece and the Days of Greek Culture in the Republic of Armenia.”

Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Karolos Papoulias summarized the results of their meeting at the joint press conference with the representatives of the mass media.


President Serzh Sargsyan and Mrs. Rita Sargsyan on January 18 visited also the Akropolis Museum.

In the evening of January 18 the President of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias hosted a state dinner in honor of the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and Mrs. Rita Sargsyan.

In the framework of his state visit to Greece, President Serzh Sargsyan met on January 19 with the His Beatitude Hieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and Primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece. At the meeting the parties spoke about the Armenian-Greek relations, which have been successfully developing after Armenia’s independence, centuries-long friendship of the two peoples, which according to President Sargsyan, are also nourished by the ties between the two Churches.

“The world is evolving, times are changing, however the import of Church, the import of faith stay unchanged; even if they change, they only become more important. Being deprived of statehood for ages, the Armenian nation relied on its faith, its Church; the Armenian Apostolic Church assumed many functions of statehood and the state and preserved our language, culture, and national identity,” said President Sargsyan, stressing the significant role of the Armenian Church in our people’s present-day life.

The President of Armenia conveyed to Archbishop Hieronymos II the invitation of the His Holiness Garegin II and noted that such a visit would greatly promote brotherly relations between the Armenian and Greek Churches.

Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and Primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece said that he was elated to meet with Serzh Sargsyan because he was hosting the President of a friendly state. He also spoke about similar historical destinies of the Armenian and Greek peoples, full of hardships and pain.

“We have all read about and are familiar with the tragedy of the Armenian people. I am sure that you too have been following the history of our nation and know about sufferings of our compatriots in the neighboring country, but this is the history as it is. The Armenian people were able to survive after so much suffering. It was the nation who overcame the hardships, and the Church overtook functions of the state. Exactly the same happened in this country. However, all this belongs to the past. Mr. President, now we live in modern times with new challenges. I am confident that our cooperation, our ties with the Orthodox faith, will help us overcome present day difficulties,” the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece said during the meeting with the President of Armenia. He wished Serzh Sargsyan successful and efficient negotiations with the political leadership of his country.

After the meeting, the President of Armenia visited the Memorial of the Unknown Soldier and laid a wreath.

In Athens, President Serzh Sargsyan held meetings with the Chairman of the New Democracy opposition party and representatives of the traditional Armenian political parties.

In the framework of his state visit to Greece, President Serzh Sargsyan met on January 19 with Speaker of the Greek Parliament Filippos Petsalnikos.

The parties discussed issues pertinent to the strengthening of the Armenian-Greek interparliamentary relations. Stressing the role of interparliamentary diplomacy in the interstate relations, the two parties highlighted the importance of cooperation of the two legislative bodies, active reciprocal visits of the parliamentarians of Armenia and Greece particularly considering the role of the Armenian-Greek friendship groups in both parliaments.

President Serzh Sargsyan expressed gratitude for the warm welcome extended to the Armenian delegation, noting that yesterday he held efficient discussions and negotiations with President Papoulias and expressed confidence that the meeting with the Prime Minister of Greece would be also very successful.

Filippos Petsalnikos handed to the President of Armenia the Gold Medal of the Hellenic Parliament, which bears a representation of the head of Pericles, the founder of the Athenian Democracy.

At the meeting with Prime Minister George A. Papandreou, President Serzh Sargsyan spoke about the necessity make the bilateral economic relations correspond to the high level of political relations and invigorate trade and economic contacts.

The parties expressed hope that at the Business Forum, which is being held alongside the Presidential visit, the Armenian and Greek businessmen will be able to find new areas of common interest and launch mutually beneficial cooperation.

Prime Minister George A. Papandreou stressed also the importance of and expressed his content with the Agreement signed between the European Union and Armenia, which was supported by Greece, since the two countries enjoy friendly and brotherly relations.

The Prime Minister of Greece expressed hope that President Sargsyan’s state visit to Greece would enhance the development and strengthening of bilateral political and economic relations.

After the meeting, President Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister George Papandreou had a working dinner.

In the evening of January 19, President Sargsyan and Mrs. Rita Sargsyan hosted a reception for the highest leadership of Greece and representatives of the Armenian-Greek community.

In the framework of his state visit to Greece, President Serzh Sargsyan had a working breakfast with Petros Efthymiou, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

On the last of the visit, the President of Armenia held a brief meeting with President Karolos Papoulias. After the meeting, there took place the official farewell ceremony of the President of Armenia.