YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. During the meeting with her Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Anniken Huitfeldt has reaffirmed her country’s readiness to support Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“I understand that my visit to Armenia is taking place in a very tense period for the South Caucasus and for your country. The purpose of my visit, first of all, is to express the readiness of Norway to support the Armenian people. I would be glad to better understand the current situation in the country and the region in these difficult times, as well as to strengthen the wonderful and friendly bilateral ties between our countries”, the Norwegian FM said.

This year Armenia and Norway mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. “But our relations are more than that and are based on a firm humanitarian friendship between the peoples. It’s a great honor for me to know that Fridtjof Nansen is recognized and is still remembered in Armenia for his work done with the refugees in Armenia 100 years ago”, Anniken Huitfeldt said.

She stated that she will meet with Armenia’s Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament and also civil society representatives during this trip.

“We had comprehensive discussions where I reaffirmed the readiness of Norway to support Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, as well as its foreign policy”, she said.

She also said that they have discussed with her Armenian counterpart a number of issues, including in regional, geopolitical, security context, the preparations for the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey. The Armenian and Norwegian FMs also talked about the prospects to strengthen the bilateral relations, about tourism and trade.

“We will consider how Norway could support the processes of democratic reforms, in addition to the funding for the CoE-Armenia Action Plan. Our common values, the belief that our societies should be built on democracy, human rights and rule of law, are a firm base to develop our bilateral relations”, she said.

The FM said that on her way from Tbilisi to Yerevan she had a chance to be admired by colorful autumn of the Armenian nature. She thanked her Armenian counterpart and the team for the warm reception.