Official visit by Xavier Bettel to Armenia

In Yerevan, Minister Bettel was received by the Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan, and the President of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan.

These meetings contributed to further strengthening bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Armenia, following the opening of an Armenian diplomatic representation in Luxembourg last February and the accreditation of a non-resident Luxembourg Ambassador to Armenia. Relations between the European Union and Armenia were also on the agenda. In this context, Minister Bettel reiterated Luxembourg's full support for the democratic transition and reform process initiated by the Armenian government in 2018.

Minister Bettel also welcomed the European Commission's decision to launch a dialogue on the liberalisation of the visa regime with Armenia, describing this step as a tangible and concrete example of the deepening of EU-Armenia relations, from which the Armenian population will be the main beneficiary.

At the invitation of the Armenian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Xavier Bettel then took part in the first edition of the 'Yerevan Dialogue', a diplomatic forum bringing together political representatives, international organisations, academics and private sector and civil society actors.

In the context of the panel entitled 'South Caucasus at the Crossroads: Between Fragmentation and Cooperation', in which he took part, Minister Bettel underlined the importance of dialogue as a key element of multilateralism. As a founding member of the European Union and the Benelux countries, Luxembourg knows the importance of regional cooperation in promoting stability, peace and prosperity.

Turning to the regional situation, the Minister recalled that Luxembourg continues to advocate a peaceful and negotiated resolution of all disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, based on respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both countries. Any further violation of Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity is unacceptable.

In this context, Xavier Bettel stressed the need to build on the momentum of the current peace negociations to achieve a lasting peace, which would be of enormous benefit to the entire region, and in particular to the civilian population.

The visit was also an opportunity for Minister Bettel to visit the TUMO centre for creative technologies, an out-of-school training centre for teenagers that offers an innovative programme combining technology, design and art to develop the creative and technical skills of young people aged 12 to 18.

Finally, the Minister travelled to Yerashk to visit the European Union Mission for Armenia (EUMA) and to meet with the Luxembourg police officer deployed as "Monitoring Team Leader" within this mission. EUMA's mandate is to monitor the security situation along Armenia's border with Azerbaijan and to promote human security in these border areas.

Press release by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade