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YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. During the panel discussion titled “Challenges and Opportunities: Towards 2025”, Armenia's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paruyr Hovhannisyan, emphasized significant changes and positive developments in Armenia's relations with both the European Union and the United States throughout 2024.
"We are talking about profound qualitative changes in our relations with both the European Union and the United States. The change with the European Union has been ongoing for over a year. It was officially announced in Granada through a joint statement by Prime Minister Pashinyan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
That statement outlined key directions for EU-Armenia relations. It was not a routine declaration; it addressed areas that had never been part of our agenda before. These include security, resilience, diversification, and new ambitions," the Deputy Foreign Minister stated.
Speaking about relations with the EU, the Deputy Minister recalled that the European Union had sent a fact-finding mission to Armenia to form a new partnership agenda. According to him, the negotiations would be completed in about a week.
"This agenda will not only complement the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement but will also expand it to include new areas that were not even part of the draft Association Agreement," the Deputy Minister explained.
Regarding the EU's visa liberalization process for Armenian citizens, the Deputy Minister noted that Armenia has been working toward this goal for years. He emphasized that substantive negotiations on the matter have now commenced.
"We hope that this process will not take too long. At the same time, we joined the European Peace Facility, which will make a great contribution to the reforms we are implementing in the defense sector," the Deputy Minister added.
Paruyr Hovhannisyan noted that 2024 was also an unprecedented period in terms of the political support provided to Armenia by the European Union and the United States. "On April 5, the United States-European Union-Armenia summit took place. We have never had such a format, and the summit unequivocally supported Armenia's territorial integrity, independence, all democratic processes, and our efforts to establish peace in the region. There were a number of important agreements on humanitarian assistance, all achieved in just one year," Hovhannisyan emphasized.
According to Mr. Hovhannisyan, 2024 was also notable for the relations between Armenia and the United States.
“This year, we held a very important session of the US-Armenia Strategic Dialogue, and at the same time, we welcomed several significant delegations to Armenia,” said Hovhannisyan.