President Vahagn Khachaturyan's official visit to the Republic of Lithuania

Within the framework of an official visit to the Republic of Lithuania, President Vahagn Khachaturyan had a meeting with the representatives of the Armenian community in Lithuania.

The President provided the representatives of the community with details regarding the South Caucasian regional realities, the activities and the role of the EU civilian observation mission on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the course of the internal life of the country.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan touched upon the principles and approaches of the leadership of Armenia regarding the resolution of the Karabakh conflict, the reforms carried out by the government in the internal life of the country, and the prospects for economic development.

During the meeting, the President talked to the representatives of the Armenian community in Lithuania in a friendly atmosphere and answered their questions.

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The official welcoming ceremony of RA President Vahagn Khachaturyan, who is in Lithuania on an official visit, took place on April 19 at the Residence of the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda.

At the end of the ceremony, President Khachaturyan wrote a note in the book of Honored guests, after which Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Gitanas Nausėda had a private meeting.

The private meeting of the Presidents was followed by an extended meeting of the delegations. During the meeting, the President of Lithuania expressed his gratitude for the visit and highlighted that mutual high-level visits give an additional impetus to the development of Armenian-Lithuanian friendly relations.

“It’s no coincidence that Lithuania was the first country to recognize the independence of Armenia, which is a result of our centuries-old friendship and cooperation,” noted Gitanas Nausėda.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan expressed his gratitude to his counterpart for the warm reception and highlighted that the solid basis of relations between Armenia and Lithuania is ensured by the common values that the two countries share. Those are democracy, fundamental human rights and freedoms, independence and sovereignty.

“The great similarities in the history and fate of our countries also contribute to the strong friendship between our peoples. Our peoples have overcome difficult impediments on their way towards independence, and achieved it, also having heavy losses,” noted President Khachaturyan.

During the meeting of the delegations, the sides discussed a wide range of issues regarding the resolution of the Karabakh conflict, the blockade of the Lachin Humanitarian Corridor by Azerbaijan and regional developments.

Both sides attached importance to overcoming humanitarian issues and resolving them without preconditions. Touching upon Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, President Nausėda expressed readiness to contribute to the establishment of peace in our region within the limits of his capacities.

Presidents Khachaturyan and Nausėda also spoke of the prospects of cooperation between Armenia and Lithuania in economic and other fields, particularly high technologies, digitalization, information security and healthcare.

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The President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan and the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda summed up the results of the meetings held at the Residence of the President of Lithuania with statements for the mass media representatives.

In his speech, President Nausėda expressed his readiness to deepen and develop multi-level cooperation between Lithuania and Armenia.

The President of Lithuania also attached importance to effective cooperation between the two countries both in a bilateral format and on the platform of the European Union, one of the results of which is the deployment of a civilian observation mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The statement of President Vahagn Khachaturyan:

“Esteemed Mr. President, dear Gitanas,

Dear media representatives,

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I want to express my gratitude to President Nausėda for the warm reception and efficient discussions.

It is a great honor for me to be in the Republic of Lithuania today, with an official visit.

I am grateful for the warm reception you gave to me and the members of my delegation.

Armenia attaches great importance to the continuous development and strengthening of relations with friendly Lithuania, and we have all the preconditions to reach this.

I highly appreciate this opportunity to meet the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament of Lithuania for discussing our bilateral agenda, as well as for the cooperation of Armenia with the EU and the exchange of viewpoints on the situation in the region.

The activation of high-level visits within the past years indicates the bilateral commitment to further expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation in all directions.

Armenia is ready to take practical steps aimed at the further strengthening and promotion of Armenian-Lithuanian bilateral cooperation in the fields of common interest, and I think there is sufficient potential in this respect.

Today, in a friendly atmosphere, we had constructive discussions with President Nausėda, which involved various fields of bilateral cooperation – information technologies, renewable energy, healthcare, environmental protection, communication and transport, humanitarian issues and more. We agreed to continue our communication aimed at further deepening our multifaceted cooperation in the same spirit.

We also touched upon the RA-EU cooperation agenda and the projects carried out within its framework.

Lithuania is one of our key EU partners and we highly appreciate the efficient cooperation between the two countries, formed within the framework of the Armenia-European Union partnership.

Surely, apart from the bilateral agenda, we also spoke about questions of security and regional significance during the meeting with the President.

We discussed Armenia’s efforts aimed at the establishment of everlasting peace in the region. Within this context, I highlighted the necessity to preserve the cultural monuments in the territory of Artsakh and under the control of Azerbaijan.

I and the President of Lithuania were of the same opinion that a comprehensive settlement of all conflicts is possible exclusively by peaceful means, in accordance with the principles of international law.

I am sure that the discussed questions will have their results, giving new quality and content to Armenian-Lithuanian relations.

In conclusion, I would like to once again thank you for the warm welcome and wish us success in bringing all bilateral and multilateral initiatives to life.”

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The President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda hosted an official dinner in honor of the RA President Vahagn Khachaturyan, who is currently in the Republic of Lithuania on an official visit.

The Presidents exchanged toasts, expressing their appreciation for bilateral friendly relations and high-level cooperation.

They placed a particular emphasis on the common values of Lithuania and Armenia, based on the principles of democracy, fundamental human rights and freedoms.

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President Vahagn Khachaturyan, who is in the Republic of Lithuania on an official visit, went to Antakalnis Cemetery.

The President laid a wreath and paid tribute to the memory of those who fell for the independence of Lithuania.

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Within the framework of his official visit to Lithuania, President Vahagn Khachaturyan, alongside his colleague Gitanas Nausėda, participated in the official opening ceremony of the Armenian-Lithuanian business forum, during which the Presidents delivered an opening speech.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan’s speech:

“I am pleased to welcome all participants of the Armenian-Lithuanian Business Forum today.

I am grateful to the Lithuanian side for the support and leadership in organizing today’s event.

The fact that so many representatives of different business areas display interest towards today’s meeting is really encouraging. Meanwhile, I should admit that a genuine interest to attend this Forum from the Armenian side was much greater, and I commit myself to providing all necessary conditions to host the next business forum in Armenia.

As an economist and politician, I consider the economy as concentrated politics, while businesses as concentrated economy. So the success of businesses is the success of the economy, and politics as well.

Driven by this idea from the very beginning of designing the program for my visit, I was keen to have a business component during the visit, - and I am pleased to see that we managed to do it.

Dear participants,

While once again welcoming all of you here, I strongly urge you to take this opportunity to discover, consolidate and reinforce your interest towards the businesses in both countries and benefit from this special occasion, kindly provided by the Lithuanian authorities.

I limit myself with these short remarks with a clear understanding that business is about activities and results, rather than lengthy speeches, - so I wish you all a successful event, and ensure you that I stand ready to support all your ideas and notions”.

At the beginning of the business forum, the Ministers of the High-Tech Industry of Armenia and Lithuania signed a memorandum of Cooperation and Understanding in the presence of Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Gitanas Nausėda. Armenian and Lithuanian businessmen participating in the conference also signed agreements and memorandums.

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Within the framework of his official visit to the Republic of Lithuania, President Vahagn Khachaturyan visited the Seimas of Lithuania and had a meeting with Speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen.

Welcoming President Vahagn Khachaturyan, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen highlighted the importance of the continuous development of Armenian-Lithuanian friendly relations both on bilateral and international platforms and within the framework of the EU Eastern Partnership.

“I hope Armenia will make cooperation with the European Union closer, which will contribute to democratic, economic and other reforms implemented in your country,” noted the Speaker.

In his greeting speech, President Khachaturyan stressed that the roots of Armenian-Lithuanian relations go deeper than it can seem at first sight.

“Many times throughout history, our peoples have struggled for their freedom and independence, and sometimes even for existence. That struggle was successful, as today, Armenia and Lithuania are independent statehoods. I am sincerely happy for Lithuania’s continuous success and I hope that you will share your best practice with us as a result of our friendship and cooperation,” noted the President.

During the meeting, the sides touched upon the situation and general developments in the South Caucasus, the humanitarian crisis resulting from the blockade of the Lachin Humanitarian Corridor by Azerbaijan and the possibilities and prospects of establishing sustainable and everlasting peace in the region.

Vahagn Khachaturyan highlighted that Armenia adheres to its position of establishing peaceful and good relations with its neighbors without any preconditions. The President also noted that the abatement of tension on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the decrease in the aggressive actions of the Azerbaijani side are also associated with the presence of the EU civilian observation mission in Armenia. In this respect, the President expressed his gratitude to Lithuania, through whose active efforts the civilian observation mission was sent to Armenia.

During the meeting, the sides also discussed the necessary steps and initiatives for the development of parliamentary diplomacy and a wide range of issues on the agenda of bilateral cooperation.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan wrote a note in the book of Honored guests of the Seimas.

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President Vahagn Khachaturyan, who was in the Republic of Lithuania on an official visit, had a working dinner with the Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė.

The RA President and the Prime Minister of Lithuania exchanged toasts and highlighted the importance of Armenian-Lithuanian friendship and cooperation. President Vahagn Khachaturyan noted that he highly appreciates Lithuania’s position and active support regarding the deployment of a civilian observation mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

In her turn, Prime Minister Šimonytė stressed that as a neutral country, Lithuania is ready to contribute as much as possible to the establishment of sustainable and everlasting peace in our region.

During the meeting, the sides discussed the realities in the South Caucasus, the existing issues and the ways of solving them. President Khachaturyan stressed that the credo of Armenia's foreign policy is the establishment of good and peaceful relations with its neighbors.

The sides touched upon the humanitarian crisis and other threats resulting from the blockade of the Lachin Humanitarian Corridor by Azerbaijan. They emphasized that overcoming humanitarian problems and the humanitarian crisis without preconditions is a priority.