Օn 13 June, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahe Gevorgyan participated in the online 46th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC),

Expressing appreciation to Serbia for successful chairmanship, Deputy Foreign Minister Vahe Gevorgyan underscored Armenia’s support to strengthening the efficiency of the Organization in terms of addressing evolving challenges.

In his remarks, Deputy Foreign Minister presented the national macroeconomic policies and legislative reforms and highlighted Armenia’s double-digit economic growth and the significant increase of foreign trade volumes, including with several BSEC member States. He reiterated Armenia’s position regarding the unblocking of communications in the region based on the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national jurisdiction of the Republic of Armenia.

Vahe Gevorgyan stressed that Azerbaijan’s aggressive actions against sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia greatly challenge the national economic development and regional economic cooperation. It was stressed that any reference to the sovereign territory of Armenia as a “corridor” is a manifestation of territorial claims against Armenia, which undermines the regional peace and security.

Deputy Foreign Minister Gevorgyan drew the participants’ attention to Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor and its socio-economic consequences and underscored that Azerbaijan’s aggressive actions and the blockade policy, which are aimed at suffocating and exhausting the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and depriving them of means of subsistence, cannot serve as a basis for lasting and sustainable peace.

The Council of Ministers adopted a number of important resolutions, decisions and recommendations and approved Armenia’s candidacy as the country-coordinator of the BSEC Working Group on Culture for 2023-2025.