On May 4, the Armenian Foreign Affairs Minister Edward Nalbandian received the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Hisashi Tokunaga.
Edward Nalbandian expressed deepest condolences for thousands of victims of the natural disasters in Japan in March.

Deputy Minister Takunaga expressed his gratitude for the condolences and assistance of Armenia in eliminating the consequences of the natural disasters. He added that the Armenian people, who had suffered the devastating consequences of earthquake, took the grief of the Japanese people as its own and the event scheduled to be held in Yerevan for the remembrance of the victims of the disasters is an evidence of friendship of the Armenian people, and Japan highly appreciates it.

Minister Nalbandian noted with satisfaction that during the recent years the Armenian-Japanese relations have had dynamic development, underlining that that development of interaction with Japan is an important direction for Armenia.

Passing to Armenian Foreign Affairs Minister the letter of the Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Macumoto, the guest said that the government of Japan highly appreciates the friendly relations with Armenia and is interested in further expanding of the relations. He added that his visit is the first high level visit since the establishment of diplomatic relations witnessing about the unprecedented development in the bilateral relations.

The sides had a detailed discussion over a wide range of issues concerning bilateral cooperation in various areas.

Both sides noted that the high-level visits and consultations between the Foreign Affairs Ministries play an important role in strengthening and deepening of bilateral cooperation.

Armenian Foreign Affairs Minister expressed with satisfaction that a number of agreements arranged during his visit to Tokyo about two years ago have been implemented.

The Japanese Deputy Minister stressed the importance of the opening of the Armenian Embassy to Japan about two years ago, adding that it would give a new impulse to the strengthening and expanding of comprehensive relations between the two countries.

In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the bilateral cooperation in the international organizations and in the process of UN reforms.

The sides stressed the importance of the steps towards the intensification of cooperation between the Parliaments of the two countries, the improvement of legal framework and the promotion of cooperation in the field of trade.

Edward Nalbandian presented Armenia’s approaches to the solution of regional issues in the Caucasus.