YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Parliament Speaker Ara Babloyan’s visit to Poland was significant from several perspectives. First of all it boosts the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation. On the other hand, it was important in terms of development of cooperation between Armenia and the European Union, because Poland is one of the initiators of the EU Eastern Partnership, and Armenia attaches great significance to the development of cooperation with the EU on the sidelines of this program, Armenia’s Ambassador to Poland H.E. Edgar Ghazaryan told ARMENPRESS in an interview, commenting on Parliament Speaker Ara Babloyan’s visit to the country.

Mr. Ambassador, how would you assess Armenian Parliament Speaker Ara Babloyan’s visit to Poland? What important emphases would you point out?

“Generally, high level mutual visits have very important significance in the relations between the two countries. They not only strengthen the friendship between the two countries and the peoples and enrich the history of our diplomatic relations, but also are a wonderful chance to get to know each others’ views on various issues and to develop cooperation. Despite the fact that inter-parliamentary cooperation between Armenia and Poland has always been on a high level, it is noteworthy that the last visit on the level of Parliament Speakers took place long ago, in 2009. Armenian Parliament Speaker Ara Babloyan’s visit to Poland was important from several perspectives. First of all it boosts the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation. On the other hand, it was important in terms of development of cooperation between Armenia and the European Union, because Poland is one of the initiators of the EU Eastern Partnership, and Armenia attaches great significance to the development of cooperation with the EU on the sidelines of this program. The fact that the Speaker visited Poland in an anniversary year, when the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between Armenia and Poland is celebrated, as well as the 650th anniversary of granting exclusive privilege to Armenians in Poland, is also extremely important.”

During the visit Mr. Babloyan had meetings with different high level officials. What agreements have been reached for future cooperation? In what areas have actions been outlined?

“First of all let me say that during the visit the Armenian Parliament Speaker had numerous important meetings, with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, Marshal of the Senate Stanisław KarczewskI, Marshal of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński, Vice-PM, minister for culture and national heritage Piotr Glinski, numerous lawmakers and politicians.

Details of the meetings are available of the official website of the Armenian Parliament. Overall, almost all meetings focused on issues of expanding cooperation between the two countries, namely issues of expanding inter-parliamentary cooperation. Mr. Babloyan presented to the Polish colleagues Armenia’s approaches over various geopolitical developments, as well as regional issues. Particularly, the clear approaches and efforts of Armenian authorities for the peaceful settlement of the Artsakh issue were presented. “

The Ambassador also mentioned that the visit was organized in a bilateral format and was not directly linked with the upcoming EU Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels, however it was an additional occasion to discuss the prospects of developing cooperation between Armenia and the EU.

The Polish Senate adopted a resolution marking the 650th anniversary of granting Armenians in Poland a special privilege. What significance does this resolution have, what does it imply?

“The resolution of the Senate adopted on October 19, 2017 has extremely important and historic significance. If not the first, this is one of the unique cases when the Parliament of a country expresses special attitude for the Armenian community of its country through a special resolution, by maximally appreciating the role and achievements of Armenians in the life of their country. We believe this is a significant event not only for the Armenian community of Poland, but overall in the life of the Armenian people. Earlier we witnessed the adoption by various states, including Poland, of resolutions recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide. One of the unique sides of the recent resolution is that it relates to the glorious chapters of the history of our people, by giving official and legal assessment to the significant activities of several centuries of our compatriots living in Poland. “

The Ambassador also pointed out the fact that the resolution was adopted unanimously by the Senate.

The full interview is available in Armenian

Interview by Anna Gziryan