Serzh Sargsyan receives Harlem Désir
President Serzh Sargsyan received today French Secretary of State for European Affairs Harlem Désir who heads the French delegation at the 31th Ministerial Conference of the International Organization of La Francophonie. The president welcomed the guest and his delegation to our country, greatly appreciating Mr. Désir’s participation in the 31th Ministerial Conference of the International Organization of La Francophonie being held in Yerevan. Serzh Sargsyan noted that he is glad to see the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair of France as a delegation member with whom he has met many times during Nagorno-Karabakh peace negotiations. Stressing that France is an intimate country for the Armenian people, the president mentioned that Armenia’s special relationship with France is an evident reality not only for the two countries’ societies, but also for the international community as a whole. Serzh Sargsyan expressed satisfaction with the fact that being a relatively young member of the International Organization of La Francophonie, Armenia has managed to find its due place among the Francophone countries and is currently perceived as one of the most active countries of the International Organization of La Francophonie. The president was certain that the Francophonie not only gives Armenia a wonderful opportunity for promotion of multilateral cooperation in that format, but also provides an effective platform to enhance cooperation in the areas of, inter alia, science, education, culture and economy. According to the president, in that regard, there are numerous encouraging examples of the Armenian-French collaboration: it is also thanks to cooperation within the frames of the Francophonie that Armenia has been able to introduce the entire academic cycle in French, from primary school to university. Harlem Désir thanked President Serzh Sargsyan for the excellent hospitality extended to his delegation, as well as to the 31th Ministerial Conference of the International Organization of La Francophonie held in Armenia. At the outset, he conveyed French President Francois Hollande’s warm greetings to Serzh Sargsyan and underscored that France seeks to develop bilateral economic relations in harmony with its high-level relations with Armenia. From the perspective of promoting economic cooperation, Harlem Désir attached importance to the conclusion of a number of new documents and to the Armenian-French Economic Forum held during the French president’s visit to Armenia in May 2014, informing that presently they are working towards holding a new economic forum in Paris. At the meeting, the parties also reflected upon RA-EU relations. Harlem Désir emphasized that France is going to maximally support the process of developing a new legal document between Armenia and the European Union, by making efforts at bringing that process to a wonderful and successful conclusion. Serzh Sargsyan and Harlem Désir exchanged views on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process within the frames of the OSCE Minsk Group. Harlem Désir assured the president that as a co-chair country, France is more than ever sure that there is no alternative to the peaceful resolution of the conflict, and based on its commitments, France will try its best to achieve a peaceful settlement of the conflict through the negotiation process.
