14.06.2017, Armenia

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. President Serzh Sargsyan, the Government and the people of the friendly Republic of Armenia for a warm welcome and hospitality.

It is symbolic that my official visit takes place as we mark the 25thanniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries.

From this point of view, we see the visit and its results as a continuation of the course aimed at strengthening Tajik-Armenian interstate relations, which have been developing consistently during the years of independence.

Today’s meetings are viewed as a new round of a permanent political dialogue between the two countries, including at the highest level.

During the talks, we considered a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation.

We spoke in favor of further development of mutually beneficial Tajik-Armenian relations in trade, as well as in the economic, scientific, technical, cultural, humanitarian and other spheres of mutual interest.

We concurred in that cooperation in these areas still falls short of the potential that exists in our countries.

With reference to key areas of trade and economic cooperation, we stressed the importance of wider cooperation between business entities and the private sectors of the two countries.

We decided to make a better use of existing opportunities in order to achieve a tangible increase in trade turnover and implement joint projects.

Willingness was expressed as to the strengthening of the practical component of our interaction in the real sector of the economy.

We called on Armenian companies to use their investment opportunities and new technologies in order to participate in our projects that are attractive from the point of view of economic benefits.

We have developed such projects and programs in the energy sector, tourism, mining, light, food and processing industries, transport and communication infrastructure, and healthcare.

We are ready to create favorable conditions for this.

The parties agreed to cooperate more actively in the framework of the standing intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.

During today’s meetings and negotiations, we revealed good opportunities for close cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian areas.

The need for developing bilateral ties in the field of research and engineering, in science, education and culture was stressed on either side.

Both sides acknowledged the importance of signing a new package of agreements based on the outcome of the talks, meant to strengthen the legal framework of bilateral relations in specific areas of cooperation.

We exchanged views on a number of topical issues on the international agenda.

Our focus was to further strengthen regional stability and security.

In this regard, we reviewed the current status and the prospects of our interaction within the UN, OSCE, CIS, CSTO frameworks and other multilateral associations.

The parties reaffirmed their readiness to strengthen cooperation in the field of combating global threats — terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking and other types of organized crime.

In discussing regional issues, we shared our vision of the problems of Afghanistan, expressed a common concern regarding the deterioration of the processes taking place in individual countries and regions.

Proceeding from our peacekeeping experience, we express our firm commitment to the principles of peaceful resolution of existing contradictions and conflicts in accordance with the universally recognized international norms and standards.

In our opinion, negotiations are the most constructive way to solving such a complex problem as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize our satisfaction with the outcome of the talks, which went out in an atmosphere of friendship, constructiveness and mutual understanding.

I am sure that the results of today’s official meetings will open up new horizons for strengthening and developing cooperation between our nations to the benefit of our peoples.

I invited my distinguished counterpart Serzh Sargsyan to pay an official visit to the Republic of Tajikistan.

I hope that the continuation of our dialogue in Dushanbe will boost the ongoing positive interaction between the two countries.

Thank you.