President receives delegation of Foreign Affairs Committee of Dutch House of Representatives

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the delegation headed by Harry van Bommel, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Armenian president welcomed the parliamentarians and expressed the hope that active reciprocal visits will elevate the bilateral parliamentary cooperation to a qualitatively new level, thereby contributing to the development and reinforcement of Armenian-Dutch interstate relations. Serzh Sargsyan stressed that despite the 23-year-old history of diplomatic relations, the friendship between the Armenian and Dutch peoples has deep historical roots.

The Armenian president noted that together with its developed economy and leading role in tech innovations, the Netherlands, as an exemplary development model, also sets a good example for Armenia in terms of implementing fundamental reforms, and Armenia is keen on deepening and strengthening its friendship with the Netherlands.

Serzh Sargsyan attached great value to the technical and financial assistance that the Netherlands has been rendering to Armenia since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

At the meeting, the parties also touched upon the events commemorating the Armenian Genocide Centennial and talked about their significance and importance.

The president greatly valued the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by the Dutch parliament on 2004, at the same time attaching great weight to the resolution on the Armenian Genocide adopted by the House of Representatives on April 9, which, according to the president, is unique among its kind. In that regard, Serzh Sargsyan expressed his special thanks to the participating deputies and those who authored that resolution, as well as to all those parliamentarians who backed the adoption of the resolution.

At the meeting, the Armenian president responded to questions from the Dutch parliamentarians, related to the RA constitutional amendment process and its importance, Armenia’s development opportunities in the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as to Armenia’s expectations for the prospects of promoting collaboration with the European Union.

The interlocutors also reflected upon regional issues and challenges, including the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.