YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. On May 3, Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan met the delegation led by the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Honda Taro, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of MFA Armenia.

At the beginning of the meeting, the parties exchanged congratulatory messages on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, noting the importance of the anniversary for further development of the bilateral agenda.  

Mnatsakan Safaryan emphasized the importance of further development and strengthening of the Armenian-Japanese relations, the activation of economic cooperation valuing the official assistance programs implemented by the Government of Japan in Armenia.

The Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister presented the situation resulting from the blatant encroachments on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia by Azerbaijan, as well as the recent developments on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, reaffirming the urgency for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue under the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs mandate. 

Taro Honda noted that the aim of his visit is the promotion of the Armenian-Japanese dialogue and expressed his satisfaction with the confirmation of Armenia's participation in the "Osaka 2025" international Expo. He reiterated Japan's position that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be settled through peaceful negotiations, emphasizing the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in the process of settlement. 

During the meeting, the Armenian-Japanese collaboration on multilateral platforms, as well as further cultural exchanges and cooperation in the sphere of tourism were touched upon.