On July 1,Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan met with Lazar Comanescu, the Secretary General of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. The meeting took place within the framework of the Secretary General’s visit to Yerevan on the occasion of Armenia’s assumption of the BSEC chairmanship on July 1.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to cooperation of Armenia with the BSEC, the priorities of Armenia's chairmanship and regional economic cooperation. 

At the outset of the meeting, Minister Mirzoyan emphasized: “This is a good opportunity to exchange views on how jointly we can best achieve the goals of the Armenian Chairmanship in the Organization which starts today. 

Regarding the priorities of Armenia. We believe in interconnectivity and cooperation within our organization, between member states will not only strongly, tangibly contribute to sustainable economic development, but also this will become a major factor in building peace and stability in the large region. Thus, the connectivity will be at the heart of our Chairmanship priorities. Especially when it comes to South Caucasus, opening of transportation links will, of course, not only greatly contribute to peace and security, economic cooperation, but also it will help our region, the South Caucasus be better connected with other global networks and here we very much rely on cooperation between our Chairmanship and the Permanent Secretariat. 

Of course, connectivity is not the only sphere, we have been cooperating in some other fields like IT, tourism etc, and we will be doing so in the future as well.”

Referring also to the "Crossroads of Peace" project developed by Armenia’s government, Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that it is a clear example aimed at economic development and ensuring peace in the region, which has already received positive reactions from several international partners. 

The interlocutors emphasized that, in the light of current geopolitical developments, the BSEC can serve as a valuable platform for dialogue to foster broader regional cooperation.