YEREVAN. - The meeting between Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is on an official visit to Armenia, took place in Yerevan on Thursday.
The meeting started with a tête-à-tête, this being followed by a meeting in an extended format with the participation of delegations, the press-service of the Armenian MFA informed Armenian News – NEWS.am.
Welcoming the guest, FM Nalbandian noted that the visit of his counterpart is taking place after the visit paid by the Armenian President to UAE several months ago and holding of the Armenian-UAE business forum, which enables to discuss the process of implementing agreements reached during the visit.
The ministers noted with satisfaction that warm friendly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation have been formed between the two countries in the most diverse spheres, stressing that the small but active community of the UAE has its input in this.
During the meeting, a wide scope of issues on the further development of bilateral cooperation, including expansion of legal framework, deepening of trade and economic ties, promotion of investments and a number of other issues were discussed. The sides agreed that the high-level mutual visits and the presence of diplomatic representations in the capitals of the respective countries contribute to the strengthening of cooperation. According to FM Nalbandian, the Armenian consulate general recently established in Dubai will contribute to this.
Ministers Nalbandian and Al Nahyan underscored the importance of holding regular consultations related to the bilateral and international agenda of the MFAs.
The UAE FM, for his part, noted that Armenia is a favorable country for tourism, growth of tourists from UAE having been recorded recently.
Apart from this, the sides exchanged views on the pressing issues on the regional and international agenda. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan presented the recent developments in the Gulf and the position of the UAE regarding them.
Nalbandian, for his part, briefed the guest on the efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries on advancing the process of the Karabakh conflict resolution. He also stressed that the co-chairing states, which act on behalf of the international community, continuously repeat that there is no alternative to the negotiation process and the conflict should be resolved based on the norms and principles of international law, especially non-use of force or threat to use force, territorial integrity, as well as equality and self-determination of peoples.
Prior to the meeting, UAE FM visited Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex Tsitsernakaberd, where he paid tribute to the Genocide victims.
