Delegation Led by Alen Simonyan Meets with Austrian Parliamentarians

The delegation led by the RA NA President Alen Simonyan met with the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of the Republic of Austria and the Parliamentary Group Austria-South Caucasus within the framework of the official visit to Vienna.

The RA NA President noted that today Armenia puts forward an agenda for establishing long-term and stable peace in the region.

He thanked the colleagues of the Austrian Parliament for the discussions and statements condemning the aggression against Artsakh during the war unleashed by Azerbaijan in the autumn 2020, as well as for the resolution on the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region unanimously adopted by the National Council.

The sides discussed a number of issues on the agenda in order to promote multidisciplinary cooperation between the two countries. In this context, the RA NA President referred to the opening of the Coordination Office of the ADA (Austrian Development Agency) in Yerevan, appreciating its importance.

Alen Simonyan assured the colleagues that Armenia, a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, is ready to support the Austrian companies in any way, which will want to enter the Armenian market. Both sides voiced their interest in activating inter-parliamentary cooperation, giving priority to bilateral efforts aimed at strengthening inter-parliamentary ties and contacts.

At the meeting, the RA NA President noted that the Armenian side expects the active participation of the Austrian parliamentarians in the solution of the humanitarian issues in Nagorno-Karabakh after the 44-day war in 2020. "These issues include the release of at least 4 dozen Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees, the protection of cultural heritage. It will be a vivid reflection of national commitment of Austria to the protection of humanitarian law and human rights in armed conflicts, and will show the contribution of Austria to international efforts to preserve endangered cultural heritage in conflict zones," he concluded.

The colleagues also touched upon the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Austria and the events to be held in this regard.