A joint press conference was held following the meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Baiba Braje.
Minister Mirzoyan, in particular, noted:
"Your Excellency, Minister Baiba Braje,
Dear colleagues,
It is a special pleasure to be in Riga today in my new capacity as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Armenia.
Dear colleagues,
I would like to emphasize that we maintain regular contacts with Minister Braje on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. Today, we again had substantive discussions on key issues of our bilateral agenda, Armenia-EU relations, as well as regional and international developments.
In recent years, Armenia and Latvia have managed to build a strong and dynamic political dialogue, a partnership based on friendship and shared democratic values. Armenia and Latvia are partners united by a commitment to sovereignty, democracy and peace.
The focus of our discussions today was on expanding economic cooperation and diversifying Armenia’s export markets. We agree that it is important to translate our strong political dialogue into concrete economic results by further boosting bilateral trade, encouraging investment and establishing close ties between our business communities.
In this context, I expressed my special gratitude to Minister Braže for his prompt response and support in facilitating the urgent export of certain Armenian products to the Latvian market. This practical support is greatly appreciated and demonstrates Latvia’s readiness to contribute to Armenia’s economic diversification at a time of great need.
We also emphasized the importance of mutual visits of business delegations, the organization of joint business forums, direct contacts between the private sectors of our countries, as well as closer cooperation between the investment promotion agencies of the two countries. Armenia is ready to explore concrete investment opportunities with Latvia and develop targeted, mutually beneficial economic programs.
We agreed on the need to develop more targeted and result-oriented cooperation in areas such as energy, resilience to hybrid threats, digital transformation, advanced technologies and artificial intelligence, e-governance, cybersecurity, and education.
Dear colleagues,
Armenia’s deepening partnership with the European Union has naturally occupied an important place in our discussions. We highly appreciate Latvia’s consistent support for initiatives of particular importance to Armenia. Our cooperation in this direction is multifaceted and includes the implementation of existing agreements, initiatives aimed at strengthening Armenia’s resilience and promoting economic diversification, as well as the identification of new directions for partnership.
Visa liberalization with the European Union is a key priority for Armenia and an important component of our broader and deeper partnership with the EU. We highly appreciate Latvia’s continued support for the Armenia-EU visa liberalization dialogue and look forward to its constructive engagement at all stages of this process. We hope that with Latvia’s continued support, Armenia will be able to advance its ambitious reform agenda, which is a cornerstone in our efforts to bring the country closer to the European Union.
We also discussed our constructive cooperation in multilateral formats, including the continued development of cooperation in the Armenia-Northern Europe-Baltic States (NB8) format.
Dear colleagues,
Today we also exchanged views on regional developments, the broader geopolitical situation and current challenges.
I have presented Armenia’s efforts aimed at further strengthening and institutionalizing the peace already established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We have also discussed the importance of unblocking regional economic and transport infrastructure, which is a direct result of the peace and stability established in our region. A vivid example of this is the TRIPP project, which will soon enter the construction phase. I have emphasized that the new realities formed in the region create significant opportunities for the development of interregional ties, the expansion of economic cooperation, and the promotion of connectivity programs.
Dear Minister, Dear Baiba,
"I would like to thank you once again for the warm welcome, productive discussions, as well as your partnership and friendship."
