Working visit of President Serzh Sargsyan to the Kingdom of Belgium

President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in the Kingdom of Belgium on a working visit, on March 05 in Brussels met with the President of the Belgian Senate Sabine de Bethune and members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

At the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan underscored that Armenia is interested in expanding and deepening relations with Belgium, which, according to the President, with its developed economy can become a good example for Armenia in its process of reformation. According to President Sargsyan, Armenia and Belgium are similar in their sizes and in Armenia Belgium is constantly viewed as an exemplary model.

The President of Armenia and President of the Belgian Senate stressed the importance of cooperation and consistent dialogue between the legislatures of the two countries.

The parties spoke also about the necessity to invigorate activities of the friendship groups formed in the beginning of 2000 in the parliaments of Armenia and Belgium, which in their opinion will be excellent for the deepening of the Armenian-Belgian friendship and the utmost rapprochement between Armenia and the family of European nations.

President Serzh Sargsyan expressed gratitude to the Belgian parliamentarians and using the opportunity provided by the meeting stressed once again that recognition by the Senate of Belgium of the Armenian Genocide was a great contribution to the process of its international recognition. The President underlined that Armenia hails Belgium’s efforts in that direction.

Later, President Sargsyan will hold in Brussels a meeting with the representatives of the Armenian organizations of Belgium.



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President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in the Kingdom of Belgium on a working visit, in the evening of March 5 met with the representatives of the Armenian organizations of Belgium.

The President of Armenia stressed the importance of the meetings with the Armenian communities and stressed the indispensable role and import of Spyurk for the Republic of Armenia. “I am grateful that you prove that it is possible to be a Belgian and preserve and develop your Armenia identity,” President Serzh Sargsyan said during his meeting with the representatives of the Armenian community of Belgium. According to the President, in each country the Armenian community presents itself as a unique bridge between the given country and the motherland, and expressed wish for that bridge to be strong and reliable. “I sincerely wish that your children and their generations preserve their Armenian identity, bringing their contribution to the strengthening of the Armenian-Belgian friendship and our cooperation. All I said is true for all and each of us. We are strong with our bright individualities, but we are even stronger with our unity,” Serzh Sargsyan told the participants of the meeting.

In his introductory remarks and also in the Q&A session with the representatives of the Armenian community he spoke in detail about our country’s relations with Belgium, EU and NATO and prospects of their development, Armenia-Spyurk relations, as well as about the issues of Armenia’s foreign and domestic agendas, and regional challenges. He also presented recent developments in the NK peace process, Armenia-Turkey relations and some other issues.

The President noted that in recent times, Armenia has registered considerable progress in its relations with EU and today on one hand we conduct negotiations around the Association Agreement and on the other – on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and visa facilitation which will become a serious impetus for the expansion of Armenia-EU cooperation and deepening of our relations.



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President Serzh Sargsyan, who is the Kingdom of Belgium on a working visit, met on March 06 with the Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

At the conclusion of the meeting, President Serzh Sargsyan and Secretary General of NATO gave a joint press conference.

(Statement by President Serzh Sargsyan at the joint press conference with the Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen is introduced completely in the section “News” of the Web)



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In the framework of his working visit to the Kingdom of Belgium, the President of the Republic of Armenia participated on March 06 at the session which was conducted in a NATO Council+Armenia, 28+1 format.

At the session, Serzh Sargsyan made an extensive presentation in which he spoke about Armenia-NATO relations, regional developments, NK peace process and challenges facing Armenia.

The President of Armenia spoke about reforms conducted in Armenia and their results. Serzh Sargsyan’s statement was responded to by the representatives of Great Britain, US, Germany, France and over a dozen of other NATO states which praised the dynamics of Armenia-NATO relations, results of the policies implemented in Armenia and commitments which our country has assumed as a partner state and has been fulfilling successfully.

At the session discussed were prospects of the NK conflict resolution. It was stated that the process conducted in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and based on the principles of non-use or threat to use force, right of people for self-determination and territorial integrity has no alternative.

President Sargsyan responded to the questions raised by the participants, expressed gratitude for the commendations and words of encouragement.




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In the framework of his working visit to the Kingdom of Belgium, President Serzh Sargsyan met on March 06 with the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso. At the conclusion of the meeting, Presidents of Armenia and European Commission gave a joint press conference for the representatives of mass media.

(Statement by President Serzh Sargsyan at the conclusion of the meeting with the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso is introduced completely in the section “News” of the Web)



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On March 06 in Brussels, President Serzh Sargsyan met with the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the President of Armenia and President of the European Council made a joint statement.

(Statement by President Serzh Sargsyan at the conclusion of the meeting with the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy is introduced completely in the section “News” of the Web)



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President Serzh Sargsyan, who is the Kingdom of Belgium on a working visit, in the evening of March 6, was hosted at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, where he made a statement and answered questions from the audience.

The President spoke about works conducted in our country and forthcoming programs with the European structures, aimed at the rapprochement with Europe and noted that after regaining independence the Republic of Armenia had chosen the European model of development.

Stating that that choice of the Armenian people was quite natural, Serzh Sargsyan in his statement made a small excursus to the history, noting that the Armenian nation is gradually rediscovering its democratic traditions which have centuries-long roots. The President of Armenia recalled that back in 1860, in Western Armenia, which was under the authoritarian rule of the Ottoman Empire, adopted was the “Vorogayt Parayts” - National Constitution. Some years later, as a result of the pressure from the European powers, it was agreed to by the Sultan as well.

The Constitution envisaged formation of the representative bodies of the Western Armenians through the general and secret elections. Needless to say that the Ottoman authorities didn’t put up with that progressive breakthrough by the Armenians and at the first opportunity terminated the effect of that Constitution. Serzh Sargsyan also reminded how ended the clash of the Armenian progressive thinking and the appalling Ottoman reality; it is well known to anyone familiar with the world history.

According to Serzh Sargsyan, policies of rapprochement with Europe are not only an axis of internal reforms, but also a pivot of the foreign policy agenda. “We attach importance to the EU’s involvement In Armenia and South Caucasus not only because EU is a global player, but first of all because it is the best model of nations’ peaceful, secure and sustainable development. Our vision of the South Caucasus’s full-fledged development is anchored in the values and understanding which made possible Europe’s success. I am confident that we can have a secure and developing region exclusively through a common system of values. Our region really needs enrooting of the understanding of common values, development of the security agenda and formation of an integrated economy, particularly considering peculiarities of our region and multiplicity of the existing challenges.

Today, I can state with confidence that Armenia is close to Europe and the European system of values not only in the sense of state-building but also because of our performance – a reliable partner in both regional and international context. Armenia advocates resolution of all existing problems through political negotiations, consensus, and respect for the positions of all parties, through peaceful means. We are ready to do our best to prevent catastrophic developments, dangerous confrontations, creation of new dividing lines and have proved with our actions the seriousness of our intentions,” the President of Armenia said.

Serzh Sargsyan spoke also about the regional problems and challenges, the NK peace process, and the Armenian-Turkish relations.

At the conclusion of his presentation, President Sargsyan underlined that regardless of the problems and challenges present in the region, Armenia has decisively chosen a truly democratic way of state-building. “We are striving to build a country where the human rights are duly respected, a country where the judicial and court system is genuinely independent, a country which promotes equal competition in the political and economic fields, and most importantly, a country where democracy is not just a form but also the content. This is the only way to have a developed country and prosperous nation, and we are determined to achieve that goal, “the President of Armenia said.



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President Serzh Sargsyan, who continues his working visit to the Kingdom of Belgium, met on March 06 with the President of the European Parliament Martin Schultz. At the conclusion of the meeting, the President of Armenia and President of the European Parliament made a joint statement for the representatives of the mass media.

(Statement by President Serzh Sargsyan after the meeting with the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz is introduced completely in the section “News” of the Web)



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President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in the Kingdom of Belgium on a working visit, met on March 07 with the President of the European People’s Party Wilfried Martens.

President Sargsyan said that meetings with the President of the EPP present a good opportunity to exchange views and ideas on the strengthening of party-to-party ties, as well as to discuss progress of Armenia’s Eurointegration policies, speak about challenges and problems facing Armenia on a global scale.

Using the opportunity presented by the meeting, the President of Armenia once again expressed gratitude for Mr. Marten’s personal assistance in admitting a number of the Armenian political forces, including the Republican Party of Armenia to the EPP. He noted that membership at the EPP, which enjoys all-European popularity, would become a great incentive for the Armenian political parties in their aspiration to fully integrate into the European political field.

At the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan referred also to Armenia-EU dialogue, successful cooperation in different areas with a number of European structures and reforms going on in our country. He also spoke about the results of his visit to Brussels, regional issues and challenges, as well as upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia. The President of Armenia and President of the European People’s Party reached agreement to use vast experience and counsel of the EPP in conducting elections in Armenia in full compliance with the European standards. President Sargsyan expressed gratitude to Wilfried Martens for his readiness to assist on this issue too.



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President Serzh Sargsyan concluded his working visit to the Kingdom of Belgium by meeting with the EU Commissioner on Enlargment and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule.

The parties spoke about the current level of Armenia-EU relations, fulfillment of the obligations assumed by Armenia in the framework of Eurointegration, current and perspective programs implemented through the assistance of the European Union, including the process of the implmentation of large-scale reforms in Armenia, which, accroding to the President, our country is determined to conduct in accordance with the European standards.

Stefan Fule noted that he was deeply impressed with progress of reformation which Armenia has registered in framework of the Eastern Partnership program.

The President of Armenia and EU Commissioner on Enlargment and European Neighborhood Policy discussed in detail prospects of deepening Armenia-EU cooperation in all areas, including the “More assistance for more reforms” principle which constitutes the base of the new ideology of the EU Eastern Partnership program. It envisages more assistance to those EU partner states which conduct more reforms.