Minister Grlić Radman officially visits Armenia

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Tuesday and Wednesday was on an official visit to Armenia, the first official visit by a Croatian foreign minister to that country.
 
During the visit, Grlić Radman met with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for talks on bilateral relations, deepening cooperation and current foreign policy topics. After the meeting, the two ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the cooperation between the Croatian and Armenian Diplomatic Academies.
 
Grlić Radman told the press that the goals of his visit was to give new impetus to Croatia-Armenia relations. “We talked about cooperation in various areas – from political dialogue to economy, science and culture. I expressed Croatia’s willingness to assist Armenia in the implementation of reforms through partnership with the EU by sharing experiences, knowledge and best practices,” he said. Croatia will also continue to cooperate with Armenia within the Eastern Partnership. The minister added that Croatia’s unique transition experience could be of great value to Armenia.
 
One of the topics of the talks between the two ministers was the security situation in the east and southeast of Europe. Grlić Radman said that the issue of peace and security in the South Caucasus was of key importance and called for joint efforts of Armenia and Azerbaijan to defuse tensions and continue dialogue and peace negotiations. In that context, he highlighted the important role of the EU in mediating peace negotiations, as well as the role of the EU peacekeeping mission in creating preconditions for peace talks.
 
Grlić Radman arrived in Yerevan with a delegation of Croatian businessmen and opened the first Croatian-Armenian economic forum with Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan. In his keynote address, Grlić Radman said Croatia wanted to strengthen economic relations with Armenia, underlining the importance of the forum as the first step in intensifying cooperation.
 
In addition, Grlić Radman met with Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan, National Assembly President Alen Simonyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan, and Catholicos Karekin II. As part of the official visit, the minister also visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial and paid respects to the victims.
 

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