President Vahagn Khachaturyan met with the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella

President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan met with President Sergio Mattarella at the residence of the President of the Republic of Italy.

Welcoming his counterpart, the President of Italy noted: "It is a great privilege for me and for the Italian people to host you today. Your visit is a great opportunity to mark the deep-rooted friendship between our peoples and to further strengthen the close relations between our countries."

Expressing his gratitude for the reception, President Vahagn Khachaturyan emphasized that Armenian-Italian relations have a long history. "We have always sensed the Italian spirit in Armenia and Yerevan. I am pleased to note that we successfully maintain the high level of our relations on political, economic and cultural platforms. We highly appreciate the close cooperation between Armenia and Italy both on bilateral and European Union platforms," the President noted.

During the meeting, the sides discussed a wide range of issues related to the expansion of existing cooperation in the fields of mutual interest for Armenia and Italy and the possibilities of implementing new joint projects. The sides also touched upon the prospects of promoting effective contacts in the commercial, economic, construction, and high-tech sectors. President Mattarella noted that recently he has noticed the growing interest of Italian businessmen in Armenia.

Referring to the growth of interest of foreign businesses in the Armenian economy, President Vahagn Khachaturyan highlighted that this is mainly due to the reforms made in Armenia in recent years both in socio-political and economic life. The President noted that due to the reforms and legislative changes carried out by the Government, the Armenian economy has become more attractive for investments.

"We are following the path of democracy also in the field of economy, we have no other resources and since independence, democracy has been one of our most important achievements, and it is the processes of democratization, the fight against systemic corruption that contributed to making Armenia's investment environment attractive for foreign investors," the President noted.

During the discussion, the President of the Republic of Armenia presented to his counterpart the details of the increasingly worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the general developments in the South Caucasus region. President Khachaturyan underscored that regardless of the challenges, Armenia is firm in its position to achieve sustainable and durable peace in the region and to establish good relations with its neighbors.

In response, President Mattarella noted that he highly appreciates Armenia's bold steps toward establishing peace and is ready to contribute to the efforts aimed at establishing peace in the South Caucasus region.

During the meeting, ideas were also exchanged regarding the possibilities of sustained promotion of cooperation between Armenia and Italy in the fields of education, science, healthcare, culture and tourism. Both sides attached importance to the existence of direct flights between Armenia and Italy which is a good opportunity for the development of tourism.