On November 17, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia met with Ankie Broekers-Knol, the President of the Senate of the Netherlands, who arrived in Yerevan on an official visit.

Welcoming the guest, Minister Nalbandian noted that during the quarter century of diplomatic relations this is the first visit of the head of the Netherlands Parliament to Armenia and expressed hope that it would give a new impetus to bilateral relations.

The President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Netherlands Ankie Broekers-Knol noted that she is delighted to visit Yerevan and highlighted the importance of Armenia's role as a bridge between the East and the West.

The interlocutors highly appreciated the role of parliamentary diplomacy in promoting the interstate cooperation and people-to-people contacts.

Edward Nalbandian and Ankie Broekers-Knol underlined the importance of expansion of the legal framework between the two countries.

During the meeting the sides exchanged views on the ways of expanding bilateral trade-economic relations. In this context, Minister Nalbandian noted with satisfaction that among the EU countries the Netherlands is one of the most important trade and economic partners of Armenia.

Edward Nalbandian and Ankie Broekers-Knol exchanged views on the preparatory works for the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held next week in Brussels.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Senate touched upon a number of international and regional issues.

Edward Nalbandian briefed the President of the Senate of the Netherlands on the joint efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries aimed at moving forward the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The interlocutors agreed that there is no alternative to the peaceful negotiated settlement of the Karabakh conflict.