Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who is on a visit to Paris, met with Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France.

Thanking for the invitation and warm reception, Foreign Minister Nalbandian noted that his visit was rich with meetings both in bilateral and multilateral formats.

Minister Le Drian welcomed the guest, expressing conviction that the visit of the Foreign Minister of Armenia will contribute to the further deepening of relations with friendly Armenia.

At the meeting the Ministers noted with satisfaction, that during the quarter century long history of diplomatic relations, Armenia and France have formed privileged relations and close cooperation based on the centuries-old friendship of the two peoples.

Edward Nalbandian and Jean-Yves Le Drian highlighted the high-level political dialogue between Armenia and France, active interparliamentary ties, decentralized cooperation involving around sixty local self-governing bodies, expansion of trade and economic ties, as well as the strengthening of interactions in the spheres of culture, science, education, high technologies, agriculture, renewable energy.

Throughout the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the preparatory works of La Francophonie Summit to be held in Yerevan in 2018 and the planned events. In this context, Foreign Minister of Armenia underscored the importance of holding a Francophone Economic Forum and establishing a Francophone business network.

The interlocutors touched upon the recently signed Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the European Union, noting that it will give a new impetus to relations with European Union in multilateral format and to Armenian-French relations in bilateral format.

Foreign Minister of Armenia briefed his counterpart on the recent developments in the Karabakh peace process, commending the efforts of France, as well as other OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries, Russia and the United States, towards the peaceful settlement of the conflict, highlighting the importance of implementing the agreements reached at the Summits held in Vienna and St. Petersburg last year and in Geneva this year.

During the meeting a number of issues of international and regional importance was discussed, the views on the recent developments in the Middle East, as well as on the efforts undertaken by international community to fight against terrorism were exchanged.

Foreign Minister Nalbandian invited Foreign Minister of France Jean-Yves Le Drian to visit Armenia.

After the meeting, Foreign Ministers of Armenia and France signed an agreement on the status of the families of the diplomatic staff of two countries.