Armenia wants to impart new quality to the relations with Japan and start a new page of cooperation․ President Sarkissian met with the Prime Minister of Japan Suga Yoshihide

Today, the President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, in Japan on a working visit, met with the Prime Minister of Japan Suga Yoshihide.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide welcomed the working visit of the President of Armenia to Japan and thanked him for participating in the official opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

President Sarkissian congratulated the Prime Minister of Japan on the successful organization and holding of the Olympic Games under unprecedented conditions, noting that he was impressed with the opening ceremony and the high level of organization of the event.

During the meeting, President Sarkissian and the Prime Minister of Japan touched upon the bilateral agenda and the possibilities of deepening the Armenian-Japanese relations. The parties noted that there is a great potential for the expansion of bilateral trade and economic relations, which is not fully realized.President Sarkissian emphasized that Armenia is interested in expanding relations with Japan. The President noted that, as a EEU member with a sustainable and mature financial and banking system, Armenia could serve a market entry point to the Eurasian countries for Japanese companies, also they could participate in the projects, implemented in various spheres of Armenia, particularly, in the programs launched with the EU financial support.

President Sarkissian attached importance to cooperation with Japanese companies in the fields of innovation, food security, high technologies, and artificial intelligence. Speaking about the ATOM (Advanced Tomorrow) Presidential Initiative for Scientific and Technological Development in Armenia, the President noted that he would be glad to cooperate with Japanese companies and implement joint programs within the framework of the initiative. He noted that for this purpose he plans to meet with the management of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to discuss cooperation opportunities.

President Sarkissian also thanked the Government of Japan for assisting Armenia in various fields and grant programs.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide noted that Japan is also interested in deepening bilateral relations and cooperation. He underscored that the activity of the famous Japanese figure Eiichi Shibusawa is a good illustration of friendship between the two peoples, and the Japanese side is ready to develop bilateral relations.

The parties emphasized the need to impart a new quality to the Armenian-Japanese relations and to start a new page of cooperation. In order to get acquainted with each other's potential, opportunities and develop target projects, President Sarkissian proposed to create a joint Armenian-Japanese structure named after Eiichi Shibusawa with the participation of Armenian and Japanese companies.

They also discussed multilateral cooperation and interaction within the framework of international organizations.