On June 20, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, who is on a working visit to Brussels, met with the European Director of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Nicolas Tavitian at the Armenian Embassy in Belgium.

The Foreign Minister highly appreciated the contribution of AGBU in voicing the issues of the pan-Armenian agenda, initiation and implementation of programmes aimed at their solution, as well as AGBU's activities in the Armenian spiritual, cultural and educational life.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the role of the state in preserving the Armenian identity. The Minister emphasized that strong community structures are one of the pillars for sustainable development of Armenia.

Nicolas Tavitian presented the activities of the AGBU Europe District, current programmes and new initiatives, and the possibilities of cooperation with the state and public structures of Armenia in this regard.

The Foreign Minister presented the recent developments in Armenia, foreign policy direction of the government programme and the Armenia-EU agenda. The sides touched upon the role of Armenian organizations in the expansion of Armenia-EU cooperation.

On the same day, the Armenian Foreign Minister met with Gaspar Karapetyan, the President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (European office of the Armenian National Committee).

Gaspar Karapetyan briefed Minister Mnatsakanian on the activities of the Armenian National Committee in Brussels and European countries, touching in detail upon the current programmes and steps towards promoting the pan-Armenian agenda.

Foreign Minister briefed on Armenia's approaches to exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.