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On 19 May, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kęstutis Budrys, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, in Yerevan to discuss bilateral relations, the EU-Armenia cooperation, Armenia’s path of European integration reforms, and Lithuania’s expert support in their implementation. They also discussed the security situation in the region, the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, and Armenia's desire to strengthen the democratic resilience of the country and society.

During the meeting, the ministers signed a declaration on the strategic partnership between Lithuania and Armenia, which provides for deepening of bilateral cooperation on political issues, countering hybrid threats and strengthening democratic resilience, as well as on economy, high-tech, energy, culture, education, people-to-people contacts, and other areas.

The head of Lithuania's diplomacy expressed the strong support for Armenia's EU integration.

"Armenia is an integral part of European civilisation. Lithuania strongly supports the European choice of the Armenian people. We know from our own experience that European integration is a fundamental condition for security and economic prosperity. We wish these and other benefits, which have been available to the people of Lithuania for more than two decades, to be available to the Armenian people as soon as possible," stressed Lithuania's Foreign Minister.

In the bilateral declaration on the strategic partnership, Armenia underlined that it will continue implementing reforms related to the EU integration, and Lithuania confirmed its determination to provide full support  by sharing its accumulated experience.

“We have shared our experience and good practices of European integration reforms with Armenia for years and will continue to do so. A few days ago, Lithuanian experts launched another large-scale project that will help Armenia to properly prepare for the earliest possible opening of the visa-free regime with the EU," said Budrys.

The Ministers also discussed regional security issues and the normalisation of Armenia's relations with Azerbaijan and Türkiye. Budrys welcomed the initialling of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement and expressed hope that the meeting would be signed in the near future.

Lithuania and Armenia are celebrating the 35th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations this year.

Photo: The MFA of Armenia