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Czech President Petr Pavel has spoken about cooperation between Armenia and the Czech Republic in the defence sector. As the Armenpress correspondent reports from Prague, the Czech President addressed the issue during a joint press conference with Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan in Prague.
Pavel noted that the role of presidents is to create avenues and opportunities for cooperation between countries in various fields, which, in his view, has been achieved between Armenia and the Czech Republic.
“It seems to me that those avenues and doors are already open. We have companies operating in the defence industry that are ready to provide support and hold negotiations on these issues. Now we should leave it to our ministers to expand these opportunities and contribute to the development of ties,” the Czech President said.
Referring to the possibility of Armenia joining the European Union, Petr Pavel said:
“Today, of course, we did not specifically discuss the precise path towards Armenia’s accession to the European Union. We are talking about expanding relations between Armenia and the European Union. Any expansion of relations with the European Union requires compliance with certain criteria and the implementation of certain steps.”
According to him, it is in the interests of Armenia and the Czech Republic for these ties to be as close as possible.
The presidents’ joint press conference was followed by Vahagn Khachaturyan’s meeting with President of the Czech Senate Miloš Vystrčil. The meeting was also attended by the Senate’s vice-presidents and the chairs of the committees on foreign affairs, defence and security, as well as EU affairs.
The discussions then continued at the Chamber of Deputies, where the Armenian President was welcomed by President of the Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura. An expanded-format meeting was held.
Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan is also part of the Armenian President’s delegation.
The official visit will also include a meeting with representatives of the Armenian community in the Czech Republic, as well as an event entitled “Solidarity: Commemorating Czech Support for Armenia Following the 1988 Earthquake”.
As part of the event planned at the Rothmayer Hall of Prague Castle, a meeting will be held with firefighters who carried out a rescue mission in Armenia following the devastating earthquake of December 7, 1988, and with organisers of a humanitarian fundraising campaign.