On March 15 by the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece Dimitris Avramopoulos, Edward Nalbandian arrived in Athens on an official visit.
The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs was hosted by Karolos Papoulias, President of Greece.

Welcoming the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the head of Greece said that the Greek people has the warmest sympathy and brotherly feelings towards Armenia and the Armenian people and feels happy that the bilateral political relations are at the highest level and pointed out that joint efforts are needed to increase the economic cooperation onto the same level.

Expressing gratitude for the reception, Minister Nalbandian conveyed to President Papoulias the greetings and good wishes of the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. Edward Nalbandian noted that President Sargsyan remembers with special warmth his visit to Greece and is looking forward to the return visit of the President of Greece.

The Greek President and Foreign Minister of Armenia noted with satisfaction that the recent years were marked with the intensification of contacts between Armenia and Greece, that by joint efforts the existing bilateral relations were provided with a new impetus and there is a mutual commitment to further strengthen and deepen them.

The sides shared the view that the Armenian-Greek relations have a privileged nature as a result of high-level mutual understanding and mutual trust.

President Papoulias briefed on the steps undertaken towards the eliminating of the effects of the financial crisis in Greece.

During the meeting, the sides touched upon the Armenia-EU cooperation, the negotiations over the Association Agreement, the visa regime facilitation process, and the negotiations over the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement.

The sides discussed ways of the promotion of educational and cultural cooperation. In this regard, the Greek President said that he would initiate an increase of the number of scholarships for the Armenians to study at Greek universities.

The agenda of the meeting included the efforts aimed at the solution of the Cyprus problem. In the context Edward Nalbandian reaffirmed the principled position of Armenia in support of Cyprus.

Edward Nalbandian presented the Greek President about the recent developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.

The Greek President asked Edward Nalbandian to convey his respect and greetings to the Head of friendly Armenia and informed him that he would accept the invitation of the President, and would be pleased to visit Armenia.

On the same day, Minister Nalbandian met with Greece's Parliament speaker Evangelos Meimarakis.

The sides noted that the intense cooperation between the two countries' parliaments, and the intensive activities of the parliamentary friendship groups contribute to the development of inter-state relations and the deepening of friendship between the two peoples.

Edward Nalbandian and Evangelos Meimarakis emphasized the active role of the Armenian community in Greece in strengthening the bilateral relations.

The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs presented Greece’s Parliament Speaker the interaction between Armenia and the European Union and Armenia's participation in processes taking place in the frames of the Eastern Partnership format.

During the meeting the sides touched upon the settlement the efforts undertaken by the international community towards the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude to Greece for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by Greek Parliament.

In the Greek Parliament Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with Apostolos Kaklamanis, Former president of Parliament and the head of the Friendship Group with Armenia and the members of the Group.

Both sides expressed satisfaction that the Armenian-Greek relations have been strengthened and developed in decades and today the two countries are linked with close interaction in various fields. The sides highly appreciated the role of the Armenian community in Greece in the expanding of the bilateral cooperation.

On the same day negotiations took place between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Greece Edward Nalbandian and Dimitris Avramopoulos.

Welcoming the Armenian Foreign Minister, Greek Foreign Minister told, “It’s truly great pleasure to welcome the Foreign Minister of brotherly Armenia and to continue the thorough discussion over various issues. We are connected with Armenia through exceptional relations of millennial history.”

Expressing gratitude for the invitation to visit Athens, Minister Nalbandian mentioned that it is his please once again to visit Greece with whom Armenia links with centuries-old friendship and friendly relations tested by time.

The Ministers discussed in detail issues related to political dialogue, interaction in the international organizations, economic development, activities of intergovernmental committee, military cooperation and expansion of legal framework, as well as steps undertaken towards the deepening of interaction in tourism, cultural and educational spheres.

In the context of the Greek Presidency in the European Union 2014, the sides exchanged views on Armenia-EU cooperation, the negotiations over the Association Agreement, the visa regime facilitation process, and the negotiations over the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement.

The two agreed upon the holding of a high-level intergovernmental meeting in autumn, and exchanges between the diplomatic educational institutions of the two countries.

The agenda of the talks included the settlement of the Cyprus and Nagorno-Karabakh issues. In this context Minister Nalbandian presented the efforts undertaking by the international community and Armenia towards the settlement of the Karabakh issue.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Greece discussed the developments in the Middle East.

Edward Nalbandian invited his Greek counterpart to visit Armenia.
At the end of the meeting, Foreign Ministers Nalbandian and Avramopoulos signed a memorandum of understanding on the cooperation between the MFAs of the two countries.

Afterwards, the Ministers had a joint press conference.

On March 15, late in the evening, Edward Nalbandian visited the Embassy of Armenia in Greece, where he met with the leaders of the organization of the Armenian community in Greece.