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As part of his working visit to India, President Serzh Sargsyan met today with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the presidential press service reported.

At the beginning of the meeting, Narendra Modi thanked Serzh Sargsyan for accepting his invitation and attending the Conference. He expressed the hope that President Sargsyan’s visit would give fresh impetus to Armenian-Indian relations and enhance them to a new qualitative level. The Prime Minister of India noted that Armenia is a reliable and important partner for India in the Eurasian area. In his words, Armenian merchants were among the first to come to India and boost commercial ties between India and different countries.

Premier Modi congratulated President Sargsyan on successful completion of the constitutional reform in Armenia and the transition to the parliamentary system of governance, as well as on the victory of Serzh Sargsyan’s Republican Party in the parliamentary elections.

The President of Armenia said he had accepted the invitation with gratitude and was glad to be in a wonderful country like India. Serzh Sargsyan presented his impressions of the World Food Conference and the Exhibition that kicked off this morning. The President said he was delighted with the achievements of India, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, especially in the field of food industry, and went on to assure that Armenia is strongly committed to deepening relations with India in all spheres - political, economic and humanitarian.

Noting that the deeply rooted friendly relations between Armenia and India provide the most solid groundwork for developing interstate relations between the two countries, the President of Armenia expressed the hope that his visit would give new impetus to the Armenian-Indian centuries-old friendship.

President Sargsyan availed himself of the opportunity to once again congratulate Prime Minister Modi and the friendly people of India on the 70th anniversary of India’s Independence. The Head of the Armenian State mentioned that as a friendly country, Armenia is pleased to witness India’s steadfast progress and its growing role and reputation in the international arena.

Reminding that Armenia and India have already crossed the 25-year threshold of establishing diplomatic relations, the parties concurred in that this jubilee is the best opportunity to sum up achievements and outline ways of expanding bilateral relations as all the necessary prerequisites are available.

The interlocutors stated that despite the ongoing high-level political dialogue between the two friendly nations, their countries boast greater potential for the development of bilateral relations, and there is still a lot of work to do in order to achieve tangible progress in this direction. Serzh Sargsyan and Narendra Modi attached importance to the activities of the Armenian-Indian intergovernmental commission, considering that it needed a better targeted agenda.

The President said Armenia is ready to offer favorable conditions for Indian companies. In this context, Serzh Sargsyan called the Indian side’s attention to the free economic zone, being established in Meghri on the border with Iran, which can become an effective platform for cooperation. According to President Sargsyan, Armenia’s accession to the EAEU may facilitate friendly India’s access to the huge Eurasian market.

During the meeting, the sides touched upon the emerging opportunities for closer interaction and exchange of experience in a wide range of areas of mutual interest, such as jewelry, diamond processing, pharmaceuticals, information technologies, agriculture, food processing, tourism, education, science and culture.

President Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted with satisfaction that the two countries are engaged in active cooperation in the multilateral format, which is best evidenced by the readiness for mutual assistance in international organizations.
Reference was made to the situation and the challenges faced in the South Caucasian region, including the negotiations over a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

At the end of the meeting, President Sargsyan signed in the Book of Honorable Guests, noting that he was grateful for the warm welcome he was enjoying in friendly India, with which Armenia shares the highest universal values, including a common drive for democracy.