YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received on January 19 first resident Ambassador of the Netherlands to Armenia Nicholas Schmemers.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, greeting the diplomat, the PM said, '' The opening of the Dutch Embassy in Yerevan and the appointment of a resident ambassador opens new opportunities for the development of cooperation between our countries. This will contribute not only to the expansion of bilateral but also multilateral relations within the European Union’'. Pashinyan highly assessed the unbiased and constructive stance of the Netherlands towards the South Caucasus region, as well as the assistancce of the Netherlands to the democratic reform agenda in Armenia.

Referring to the situation created after the Artsakh war, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the key priority for the Armenian side is the return of the POWs, for which intensive efforts are being made.

The PM asked to convey warm greetings to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte and expressed regret for that his visit planned for the previous year was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nicholas Schmemers assessed it as honor to hold a diplomatic position in Armenia and assured that he will make all possible efforts for bringing Armenia-Netherlands relations closer. According to him, the opening of the Embassy in Armenia is aimed at ensuring balanced diplomacy in the region. Highlighting high-level mutual visits, the Ambassador hoped that in the near future the visit of PM Pashinyan to the Netherlands will take place.

Nicholas Schmemers offered condolences to the PM for the military and civilian victims during the war in Artsakh and wished the injured speedy recovery.

The interlocutors discussed issues of deepening economic relations between the two countries. The sides assessed IT, agriculture, tourism as spheres with great potential for cooperation.

The Prime Minister noted that the vision of the government is to have a knowledge-based economy, and offered the Ambassador to draw the attention of Dutch companies to the prospect of investing in these areas. Nikol Pashinyan also spoke about the opportunities created by the unblocking of the economic and transport infrastructures of the region.

Nicholas Schmemers expressed readiness to inform Dutch companies about Armenia's investment opportunities and to work actively to promote cooperation. He also praised the role of the Dutch-Armenian community in various spheres of the country's public life.