President receives representatives of German Marshall Fund and Robert Bosch Foundation

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the representatives of the German Marshall Fund and the Robert Bosch Foundation.

The President welcomed the representatives’ delegation to Armenia and extended his thanks to the abovementioned funds for organizing discussion in such a format. Serzh Sargsyan attached importance to such meetings with heads of state that have already become a tradition. According to him, they provide an opportunity to establish direct contacts with circles of academicians and analysts. Noting that since the very first day of its establishment, the German Marshall Fund has been geared towards promotion of international peace, stability and security, consolidation of democracy, boosting economic development and shared prosperity, the Armenian President underscored that Armenia lays special emphasis on one of the fund’s missions, namely the development of mechanisms to collectively respond to global challenges and overcome them. According to Serzh Sargsyan, this year it has taken on particular significance for our state, taking into account the fact that the main dimension of Armenia’s foreign policy is the call for tolerance and unity directed to the international community; unity is of special importance amidst the commemorative events of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide – the first genocide of the 20th century. The President said that the plain truth was that genocide, as the most severe crime against humanity, is committed or reoccurs due to the failure of the international community to adopt a common position.

Serzh Sargsyan spoke with the participants of the meeting about the significance of the commemorative events to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Armenia and abroad, in his introductory remarks touched upon Armenia’s foreign policy priorities, the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Armenia-Turkey relations, as well as upon regional issues and challenges.

The President also answered the questions of the representatives of the German Marshall Fund and the Robert Bosch Foundation which were related to both the aforementioned topics and the relationship between Armenia and the European Union and their cooperation prospects, the pace of the development of the Armenian economy and the possible difficulties and challenges driven by external factors, Armenia’s new economic development opportunities offered by its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, the domestic political situation etc..