On September 18th the official visit of the Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian to Italy started.

On the same day a meeting took place between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Edward Nalbandian and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Emma Bonino.

Expressing gratitude to his Italian counterpart for the invitation to visit Rome Minister Nalbandian stated that Armenian-Italian relations have a history of millenniums with memorable expressions of mutual friendship and good traditions which is a solid ground for the further strengthening and deepening of cooperation.

Minister Bonino greeted the visit of Armenian Foreign Minister to Rome and stated that Italy is interested in further development of comprehensive collaboration with Armenia and is ready to make practical efforts in that direction.

Ministers Nalbandian and Bonino had a thorough talk about the ways of expanding interaction in different fields.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenian and Italian emphasized the importance of high-level visits, triggering the political dialogue, holding consultations between the Foreign Ministries and intensifying cooperation in the framework of international organizations.

The sides stated with satisfactions that there is a respective legal framework and a tendency for the activation of economic ties for expanding the trade-economic cooperation. Both sides stressed the importance of organizing business forums.

Participation of Armenia in the upcoming World Expo 2015 in Milan was also discussed during the meeting.

Edward Nalbandian and Emma Bonino also talked about decentralized, inter-parliamentary, cultural, educational and scientific cooperation.
During the meeting Armenia-EU relations, interactions in the framework of the Eastern Partnership were also discussed.

In the context of Armenian Chairmanship in the Council of Europe the agenda issues of the CoE were touched upon.

Upon the request of the Italian colleague, Edward Nalbandian presented the efforts of Armenia and the international community for the peaceful resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

Foreign Ministers also had an exchange of ideas concerning the efforts exerted for the resolution of the Syrian crisis, the negotiation process of Iranian nuclear program.

On the same day Minister Nalbandian met with the Defense Minister of Italy Mario Mauro.
During the meeting the sides discussed the cooperation in the field of defense and the implementation of the arrangements deriving from the agreement signed between the Defense Ministries during the previous year in Yerevan.

The Defense Minister of Italy reaffirmed the readiness of the Italian side to train Armenian officers in the respective military institutions of Italy.

The agenda of the negotiations also included possible Armenian-Italian cooperation in international peacekeeping operations.

In the evening of September 18 a reception dedicated to the 22nd anniversary of the Independence of the RA took place in the Embassy of Armenia to Italy. The reception was attended by Italian politicians and public figures as well as Ambassadors accredited in Rome and representatives of the Armenian community of Italy.

Greeting the guests Minister Nalbandian said: “The restoration of the Armenian statehood was a centuries-long dream of our nation which has passed a long way to achieve it. The will of the Armenian people to have a free and democratic country, the imperative of providing security for Armenia and Artsakh, success in the process of state-building achieved during last two decades inspires millions of Armenians across the world including Armenians in Italy who have their contribution in the development of our country.

Armenian-Italian contacts have a history of two thousand years whereas diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Italy have a history of only 21 years. During the last two decades we managed to add a new quality to the bilateral cooperation which includes intensive political dialogue, inter-parliamentary ties, decentralized collaboration, interaction in the fields of economy, culture, science, education, etc. There is a solid legal framework with 30 signed documents.

The Armenian community of Italy has its important contribution for the enhancement of bilateral friendship.

Everything accomplished during the last twenty years is our joint achievement and we are consistent to advance our efforts together for the further development of our friendly partnership”.