On March 27, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, who is in Armenia on an official visit.

The meeting started with a private talks, followed by negotiations in an enlarged format, with the participation of delegations.

Welcoming the guest, Minister Nalbandian underlined that, along with numerous meetings on the sidelines of international conferences, the visit to Armenia is a good opportunity to continue discussions with regards to a wide range of issues of bilateral agenda as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest.

Foreign Minister of Armenia expressed his gratitude to Minister Asselborn for the valuable contribution of Luxembourg to the prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity, commending the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Luxembourg in 2015 and the continued support of international efforts towards genocide prevention. Edward Nalbandian thanked for the support of Luxembourg to the resolution initiated by Armenia on the occasion of 70th anniversary of adopting the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide at the UN Human Rights Council last week.

Expressing gratitude for the invitation and warm reception, Minister Asselborn assured that his country is interested in developing a comprehensive cooperation with Armenia.

Foreign Minister of Armenia assessed positively the opening of Honorary Consulate of Luxembourg in Armenia, expressing hope that this would be the first step towards ensuring Luxembourg's permanent presence.

The interlocutors touched upon the development of bilateral trade and economic relations, exchanged views on the possibility of organising an Armenian-Luxembourg business forum, which could be a good opportunity for establishing business relations between the private sector representatives of the two countries, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as identifying possible spheres for investments.

The agenda of the meeting included issues related to the expansion of the legal framework, holding regular consultations between the Foreign Ministries, and strengthening the cooperation within the framework of international platforms, particularly, the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe.

Both sides underlined the importance of cooperation within the framework of the International Organization of La Francophonie. In this context Minister Nalbandian thanked Minister Asselborn and Luxembourg for the unconditional and principled support of the initiative to hold the 17th Summit of La Francophonie in Armenia.

Edward Nalbandian and Jean Asselborn discussed in a detailed manner the preparations for the Summit of La Francophonie, Ministerial Conference, Permanent Council and related events to be held in Yerevan. The sides highlighted the importance of participation of relevant business circles from Luxembourg in the Francophone Economic Forum to be held in Armenia on October 10.

They touched upon the Armenia-European Union cooperation underscoring in this context the opportunities provided by the signing of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement.

Foreign Ministers discussed the inter-parliamentary ties, the activities of the friendship groups operating in the legislative bodies.

Minister Nalbandian presented to his counterpart the joint efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries aimed at exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

At the end of the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Luxembourg held joint press conference.

Jean Aseborn delivered a lecture to the students of the Diplomatic School of the Foreign MInistry.

Today, Edward Nalbandian and Jean Asselborn will be present at the solemn ceremony of opening the Honorary Consulate of Luxembourg in Armenia.