Address by President Serzh Sargsyan to the Participants and Guests of the 4th Armenian-Russian Inter-Regional Conference

I cordially welcome all the participants of the 4th regular Armenian-Russian Inter-Regional Conference which has already become a good tradition and has laid down a firm foundation for cooperation between our countries and regions.

Armenian-Russian allied relations have been developing consistently, embracing new spheres of mutually beneficial cooperation - political, military technical, trade and economic and humanitarian. Our countries’ decentralized collaboration harmoniously supplements the rich palette of this bilateral strategic partnership which is rooted in the friendly ties that have bound our people together for centuries.

Resting upon the results of past conferences, during which multiple agreements were concluded, we can state that our cooperation in this sphere has proved its effectiveness. Among the visible outcomes of the conference are the strengthening of inter-regional ties, realization of joint business projects and the attraction of investments in promising cooperation spheres.

Armenian-Russian conferences have become an important platform that brings together the representatives our countries’ governments, business and social circles, affording them an opportunity to develop new dimensions of effective mechanisms and cooperation aimed at revealing our regions’ resource potential.

By joining the EAEU, our countries were able to raise their mutually beneficial partnership to a qualitatively new level, and we must do everything to use the broad opportunities provided by the EAEU, particularly the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor, to make our countries prosperous. Our work must be targeted at increasing trade and investment inflows, strengthening business ties, and, finally, achieving a higher level of integration between our countries.

Undoubtedly, among one of the key components of inter-regional cooperation is humanitarian collaboration which is developing consistently.

This year, the branch of Lomonosov Moscow State University opened its doors in Yerevan. Literally a few days ago, Yerevan hosted the 3rd International Conference of the Alumni of Moscow State Institute of International Relations, which was conditioned by the 200th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Institute of Oriental Languages by the Armenian patrician dynasty Lazarevs, that provided grounds for the establishment of MSIIR. The maintenance and broadening of ages-old cultural ties between our peoples must become a primary direction on our inter-regional cooperation agenda.

I strongly believe that owing to your conscientious and productive work, we will achieve high results in the promotion of Armenian-Russian inter-regional cooperation.

I wish you success and further achievements.