The newly appointed Ambassador of the USA to Armenia Kristina Kvien presented her credentials to President Vahagn Khachaturyan

The newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USA to Armenia Kristina Kvien presented her credentials to President Vahagn Khachaturyan.

President Khachaturyan welcomed and congratulated the Ambassador on her appointment. “We are glad to already see you in Armenia. Speaking of Armenian-American relations is a little special in my case. I have been constantly involved in that process since 1992. I remember when the first US Embassy was opened in Armenia. I also had very close personal relations with the first Ambassador Mr Gilmore, as well as the USAID (US Agency for International Development) Mission Director of that time. I was the Mayor of Yerevan then. Those were tough times, it was a state of war, we had just gained independence and were searching for partners, and our first such partner was the United States of America. We will never forget that since the first day of our independence, you have been by our side and have appreciated the approaches or the political direction we have adopted from the very beginning. Those were freedom, democracy and sovereignty. You have always supported us in this throughout these 30 years. In the 1990s, even the smallest help was important to us. And in the meantime, you were teaching us to look forward.

Now, I’d like to speak of the current situation. Actually, you keep doing the same now. We have gone through very difficult times in the past two years and you have always been by our side.

I am sure that we will continue the implementation of all programs with you, as well. I wish you success.”

Expressing her gratitude for the reception, Ambassador Kristina Kvien noted in her turn: “Thank you so much, Mr. President. I am absolutely thrilled to be here in Armenia. I was able to meet with Secretary Blinken in the White House before I came out, and I can assure you that we are absolutely dedicated to continuing our close relationship and working with Armenia and those in the South Caucasus to try to bring peace, stability and prosperity to Armenia.

I am an optimist. Even though I know that it is a difficult time, it is a challenging time, I am optimistic that by working together, we can bring Armenia to an even better place and raise our bilateral relationship to an even better level. I look forward to working with you in the coming days, months and years, to advance all of our work together, whether it be with the USAID, the department of defence or others, to do everything we can to strengthen our relationship.”

During the meeting, the sides discussed a wide range of questions related the Armenian - American cooperation. They touched upon the reforms in the state governance and judicial systems, initiated by the Armenian government in recent years, and the support of the USA in these processes.

Both sides attached importance to the establishment of sustainable and everlasting peace in the South Caucasus. Within this context, President Khachaturyan presented Armenia’s position and approaches regarding the establishment of peaceful and good relations with the neighboring states.