The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made statements for the media.
Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan –
Honorable Mr. President,
Dear attendees,
I am glad to welcome the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the representative delegation led by him within the framework of the official visit to the Republic of Armenia.
The visit is of great importance for the further development of multi-sectoral cooperation between Armenia and Kazakhstan. In this context, we referred to the traditionally rich and dynamically developing bilateral agenda and discussed our joint steps aimed at further expanding it and bringing it to a qualitatively new level.
I would like to express my satisfaction with the warm relations between our states and peoples, which have a centuries-old history and are based on mutual respect and friendship.
It is noteworthy that this visit takes place in a symbolic period for our countries. this year marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The high level of political dialogue between Armenia and Kazakhstan was once again reconfirmed by the joint statement signed by us a little while ago, which has a landmark role in terms of the further development of bilateral relations and giving them new impulses.
I thank the Kazakh delegation for the sincere and mutually beneficial contacts held in a friendly and constructive atmosphere, during which we had the opportunity to summarize the results of the intensive work carried out in various directions in Armenia and Kazakhstan in the recent period, as well as to outline the ways of advancing the priorities of our comprehensive agenda.
In today's negotiations, we emphasized the holding of the 10th jubilee session of the
intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation between the two states held on April 2, as well as the business forum organized in Yerevan recently. In this context, my colleague and I outlined the possibilities of further expansion of the multi-faceted agenda of economic interaction aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two states, including in the transport-logistics sector, through identifying new promising directions and implementation of mutually beneficial projects.
We agreed that, despite the continuous growth of bilateral trade volumes, there is still untapped potential between Armenia and Kazakhstan to develop trade and economic cooperation, to promote investments, to develop infrastructure links and trade. In this regard, we welcome the recent visit of the Kazakh business mission to Armenia.
We also discussed with the President of Kazakhstan the current perspectives of cooperation in the fields of education, culture, high technologies, as well as the possibilities of decentralized cooperation.
I am happy to state that the establishment of the park named after Saint Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of Armenian alphabet, in Astana, and the park named after Abai Kunanbaev, a Kazakh poet and founder of Kazakh literature, in Yerevan is being discussed.
Of course, we also referred to the situation related to ensuring security and stability in the South
Caucasus. I presented my colleague with the latest developments in negotiations with Azerbaijan, reaffirming the readiness of the Armenian government to achieve stable and lasting peace in the region, based on the three principles already agreed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Let me remind these principles: mutual recognition of territorial integrity and the implementation of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation process based on the provisions of the declaration adopted in the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan on December 21, 199, as well as the unblocking of regional infrastructures based on the principles of respect for the sovereignty and jurisdiction of states, reciprocity and equality. In the context of the latter, we referred to the "Crossroads of Peace" project presented by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the implementation of which can radically change the situation in the region.
Concluding my speech, I would like to add that our shared position on the sovereignty and independence of states, as well as mutual interest in the diversification of regional infrastructures and transport channels, create fertile ground for the activation of joint work in the above-mentioned direction.
Honorable President,
Once again, I thank you for your visit to Armenia and today's effective negotiations, and I give the floor to you with pleasure. Thank you.
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev -
Dear Nikol Vovayevich Pashinyan,
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
First of all, I want to thank Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for inviting me to Armenia and for his hospitality. I am making an official visit to Yerevan for the first time as the President of Kazakhstan and I express my gratitude to the people of Armenia, who warmly welcomed the delegation of Kazakhstan.
We have special respect for the ancient history, rich culture and traditions of Armenia. Armenia is a very important and reliable partner for Kazakhstan in the South Caucasus. Our relationship is based on unbreakable friendship and support. Activation of bilateral ties is our common goal. Our goals and interests in terms of strengthening regional and international peace and security coincide.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation between the two countries. During that period, solid foundations were laid between Astana and Yerevan for a long-term mutually beneficial partnership.
We are interested in the further development of comprehensive partnership with Armenia, and in that sense today's visit is of special importance to me. Negotiations with Nikol Vovayevich prove that we are interested in maintaining our partnership at the highest level.
Today we discussed in detail many topical issues. We reached concrete agreements. Mr. Pashinyan referred to it a while ago. We paid special attention to the expansion of trade, economic and investment ties. Over the past five years, the volume of bilateral trade has been steadily increasing, but the potential for the development of relations between the two countries has not been fully utilized until now. And that is why we consider it appropriate to increase the pace of mutual trade. It is necessary to look for new directions that will give a new impetus to the increase in the volume of trade turnover. We must take concrete measures to increase the list of export and import products. For this, the existing opportunities should be used as efficiently as possible. Kazakhstan is ready to increase the export volume to Armenia to the milestone of 350 million dollars.
We need to intensify relations in industry, finance, innovation, tourism, agriculture and other fields. In this sense, I suggested the Armenian side to implement a number of joint investment projects. This is particularly relevant in today's difficult geo-economic and geo-political situation. The work in this direction is in the focus of the intergovernmental commission.
In addition, we need to activate business contacts. These steps will facilitate the immediate establishment of a business council, strengthening ties between the businesses of the two countries. This will also improve the investment relations between our two countries. The transport logistics sector is also of great importance in terms of strengthening cooperation.
We highly appreciate Armenia's aspiration to restore transport links in the South Caucasus. In that sense, we welcome the initiative of Honorable Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which is called "Crossroads of Peace". In addition, we support the initiative of direct air exchanges between our two countries, two capitals and other cities. We discussed the possibility of expanding the list of products in the field of agro-industry and their supply. Cooperation in the field of digital technologies should also be promoted. Kazakhstan and its Armenian partners intend to implement joint projects in this important sector.
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
We attach special importance to the strengthening of cultural and humanitarian ties. Days of Armenian culture will be held in Kazakhstan this year. This is an important event, it will undoubtedly bring our peoples closer, and restore our spiritual ties. We agreed with Honorable Prime Minister that one of the streets in Yerevan will be named after the great Kazakh thinker Abai, while one of the streets in Astana will be named after the creator of the Armenian alphabet, Mesrop Mashtots. We also welcome the initiative to create a scientific group to study Qypchaq manuscripts written in Armenian. The materials will be researched jointly by the Eurasian National University and Yerevan State University.
During the negotiations, we exchanged views on current issues of the regional and global agenda. Kazakhstan and Armenia effectively interact within the framework of multilateral structures. The positions of the two countries on many pressing issues at the regional and international level are close. Providing mutual support for our initiatives has already become a tradition. We agreed to work together in the coming period and actively participate in processes aimed at ensuring peace and stability. We fully welcome the desire of Armenia and Azerbaijan to conclude a peace treaty.
As the Honorable Prime Minister mentioned a while ago, Kazakhstan is ready to provide maximum assistance in this direction and provide its platform for negotiations between the two countries. Our main goal is to bring our friendly countries closer together, to pave the way for to lasting peace, good neighborliness and stability in the region.
Dear journalists,
Our negotiations took place in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust. This will give a new impetus to the relations between Kazakhstan and Armenia. Taking this opportunity, I would like to invite Honorable Prime Minister Nikol Vovayevich Pashinyan to pay an official visit to Kazakhstan. I am sure that such steps will bring our peoples closer and deepen cooperation.
Thanks for attention.
