By the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea Kim Sung-Hwan, the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian arrived in Seoul on an official visit on February 23rd, where he was received by Kim Hwang-Sik , the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea.

The agenda of the Korean Prime Minister and Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs included issues related to the preparatory works for the second Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul on 26-27 March and EXPO-2012 to be held in South Korea from May to August of this year, as well as Armenia’s participation in those globally important events.

The sides expressed hope that the 20 year of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries would be a starting point for the development of bilateral interaction. The sides expressed willingness to undertake required steps towards that direction, as well.

Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea for their support provided to Armenia’s development since the independence.

In this regard, the Korean Prime Minister noted that the Korean side is committed to continue to provide technical assistance to Armenia through the Korean International Cooperation Government Agency.

Kim Hwang-Sik and Edward Nalbandian touched upon a wide range of issues of bilateral relations and the ways to develop political, economic and cultural cooperation.

On the same day were held the talks between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Korea Edward Nalbandian and Kim Sung-Hwan.

At the beginning of the meeting, the sides exchanged messages of the Presidents of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Korea Serzh Sargsyan and Lee Myung- Bak on the 20 years of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Welcoming Edward Nalbandian, Minister Kim Sung-Hwan said: “The 20th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations being celebrated this year is a good opportunity to summarize the way passed over those years and to discuss the steps to be undertaken for bringing a new impetus to the bilateral relations.''

Thanking for the invitation to visit Seoul, the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed the importance of reaching understanding on the expansion of the interaction with Korea in various spheres.

Referring to the second Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul next month, Kim Sung-Hwan mentioned that it is expected that heads of more than five dozen states and governments will participate in the Summit. In this regard, Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs on behalf of Korean Government expressed gratitude for the scheduled participation of the President of the Republic of Armenia in the Summit.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Korea exchanged views on a number of regional and international agenda issues.

Minister Nalbandian presented the main directions and priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy and the steps undertaken by Armenia towards the maintenance of security in the Caucasian region.

During the talks the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue was touched upon, as well. Minister Nalbandian told his Korean counterpart about the recent developments.

The Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs presented the approaches of his country on the developments in the Asian region, as well as the efforts being exerted towards the maintenance of security in the Korean peninsula.

The Ministers agreed upon the activation of interaction in the international organizations and conducting of regular consultations between their Ministries.

The establishment of a legal framework was mutually stressed, and the sides agreed to prepare and sign agreements on economic, investment, scientific and educational, cultural and custom cooperation in the near future.

The sides discussed issues related to the promotion of the interaction in the spheres of information technologies, tourism and business, as well as visa regime facilitation.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Korea signed an inter-governmental agreement on the visa regime abolishment for holdets of diplomatic and service passports.

The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs invited his Korean counterpart to visit Yerevan.

In Seoul Edward Nalbandian delivered a speech on Armenia’s foreign policy and Armenian-Korean relations for the students of the South Korea's Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (Diplomatic Academy).

Before the speech, Minister Nalbandian met with the leadership of the South Korea's Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security who briefed the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs about the activities and educational courses of the Institute. The cooperation between the Armenian MFA’s Diplomatic School and South Korea's Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security was touched upon.

The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs was hosted at the Korean National Assembly where he had a meeting with the Chairman of the International Relations Commission, Kim Chung-whan and the members of the Commission.

Describing the Armenian-Korean relations as a friendly one, the Korean deputies expressed hope that the visit of the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs to Seoul would give a new impetus to the development of bilateral cooperation.

The sides expressed satisfaction with the cooperation established between the Parliaments of Armenia and Korea, and exchanged views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues.

Concluding the Korean visit, the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs left for Vietnam.