Hello dear colleagues,

I am pleased to welcome my counterpart, the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jakub Kulhánek, who is in Yerevan for the first time, on an official visit. This visit is a good opportunity to outline our further steps for a new impetus to the Armenian-Czech relations, and to re-evaluate the potential for effective cooperation in political, economic and other spheres.

Armenian-Czech relations are based on mutual respect and mutual interests between the two peoples. We attach great importance to the continuous development of cooperation with the Czech Republic, based on common values and democratic principles.

Minister Kulhánek and I touched upon our agenda of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. We have an effective framework for political dialogue and consultations between the Foreign Ministries. There is also the Armenian-Czech Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, the 5th session of which will soon be held here in Yerevan.

We expressed mutual readiness with the Minister to take practical steps to make full use of the existing potential in the trade-economic sphere. We see ample opportunity for cooperation in the fields of high tech and information technologies, renewable energy, water resources management, agriculture, tourism, healthcare.

I would like to emphasize that in parallel with the first visit of FM Kulhánek to Armenia, a business delegation from the Czech Republic is in Armenia to participate in a business forum and have relevant sectoral meetings and discussions. I am hopeful that the conference we attended today will bring the expected results, the established ties will be strong, stable and promising.

My colleague and I exchanged views on the agenda of the Armenia-EU partnership, the effective implementation of the inclusive cooperation and the Agreement on the Comprehensive Enhancement Partnership (CEPA) within the framework of the Eastern Partnership. I would like to note that the Eastern Partnership is an important platform for countries sharing common values, and we are ready to make efforts to develop and strengthen this format.

We have also touched upon our cooperation on a number of international platforms. We emphasize the format of parliamentary diplomacy, as well for the expansion of dialogue between the two countries.

During our conversation, we also focused on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and its related issues. I would like to note that Armenia highly appreciates the position of the Czech Republic in the resolution of the conflict, which corresponds to the position of the EU, i.e. support to the continuation of peace negotiations in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship and search for a lasting, sustainable settlement of the conflict".

In this regard, I would like to highlight the meetings with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in New York on September 23, as well as my meeting with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan on September 24, with the mediation and participation of the Co-Chairs come to prove once again that the peaceful settlement of the conflict is still on the agenda. At the meetings in New York, I reaffirmed Armenia's readiness to fully resume the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, based on well-known principles and elements.

We touched upon numerous humanitarian issues to be addressed regarding Nagorno-Karabakh, discussed in detail the issue of Armenian prisoners of war being held in Azerbaijan, and underlined the importance of their immediate repatriation.

I would like to inform that today the delegation headed by the Minister visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. In this regard, the Armenian people highly appreciate the adoption of resolutions by the two chambers of the Czech Parliament recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide, which, in our opinion, expresses the Czech Republic's commitment to human rights and the principles of humanity.

Let me conclude and gladly pass the floor to Mr. Kulhanek. Welcome to Armenia once again, dear partner.

Thank You.