On February 16, Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian received Manabu Horii, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.

Welcoming the guest, Foreign Minister Nalbandian highly assessed the increasingly developing relations with Japan, underlining that regular high-level contacts give a new impetus to the Armenian-Japanese friendly cooperation.

Expressing gratitude for the reception, the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan noted that this meeting is a good opportunity to discuss the joint steps undertaken towards the further expansion and development of cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats.

Both sides highlighted the importance of the establishment of embassies in Yerevan and Tokyo and their significant contribution to the development of Armenian-Japanese relations in various fields. Edward Nalbandian expressed his gratitude for the continuous support provided by Japan for the development of Armenia since its independence.

During the meeting the sides touched upon the bilateral agenda issues, exchanged views on political dialogue, cooperation within international structures, intensification of trade relations, expansion of legal framework and promotion of cultural exchanges.

Underscoring the importance of inter-parliamentary cooperation, the interlocutors commended the effective cooperation in this format, which brings its contribution to the further strengthening of bilateral relations.

Foreign Minister of Armenia presented to the Japanese Vice-Minister the latest developments with regards to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the joint efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries aimed at the exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Foreign Minister of Armenia and the Japanese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs exchanged views on a number of urgent international issues.