YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan hosted at the Government Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Еl-Sisi, who is in Armenia on an official visit. First, a private conversation between the leaders of Armenia and Egypt took place, then the negotiations continued in an expanded format, ARMENPRESS was infomred from the Office of the Prime Minister.

At the beginning of the private conversation, Prime Minister Pashinyan noted. "Honorable Mr. President, I welcome you to the Republic of Armenia. You are the first head of the Arab Republic of Egypt to visit the Republic of Armenia, it is a great honor to host you.

Our government and people have a very warm attitude towards both the people of the Arab Republic of Egypt and personally you.

I hope that also as a result of your visit, the economic relations will gain great activity and impetus. Honorable Mr. President, I welcome you again to the capital of the Republic of Armenia. You are welcome."

In turn, the President of Egypt said: "Your Excellency, honorable Mr. Prime Minister, I thank you for the opportunity, your invitation, warm welcome and good hospitality in your country. I also want to thank you for the dynamic development in strengthening the relations between the two countries.

There is mutual trust at the level of leaderships of the two countries, it should be noted that such trust also exists between the peoples of the two countries. It enables us to ensure even more promising development in bilateral relations. I talk about all spheres equally, be it economic or cultural. There are many opportunities for strengthening and developing multipolar and multisectoral relations. I am talking about both economy and mutual investment, high-tech, tourism, communication and electricity sectors.

Prime Minister Pashinyan noted at the extended meeting that they had an important conversation with the President of Egypt and discussed many issues of the bilateral and regional agenda. "Egypt is a reliable partner for us in the international arena, and let me express confidence that our trust will further deepen with the results of your historic visit. Also, the warmth of our relations, I think, demonstrates our special relations in the context of relations between Armenia and the Arab world. Egypt is also a reliable partner for us in our relations and dialogue with the Islamic world.

This relationship of ours, this warmth also shows our attitude towards the Islamic world and civilization, our respect. The agreement according to which we will assign our ministers to hold another session of the intergovernmental cooperation commission in 2023 is another important practical result. I said that we gratefully accept the opportunities for the development of economic cooperation that you pointed out and we will definitely do everything to implement that agenda.

Honorable Mr. President, let me once again welcome you and your delegation," Nikol Pashinyan said.

Abdel Fattah El-Sisi noted that the friendly atmosphere and warmth he felt during the private conversation with the Armenian Prime Minister speaks of only one thing: the great mutual trust and respect that exists between the two countries. “Mr. Prime Minister, let me also say that all the points on which our discussions took place should be transformed into practical steps in a short period of time, and this should be demonstrated by the activities of the governments of our two states. The meetings of the intergovernmental commission can be convened as soon as possible and in the near future," the Egyptian President said.

Emphasizing the effective cooperation formed between Armenia and Egypt in international organizations, the Prime Minister highly appreciated Egypt's support to Armenia, especially in those organizations to which our country is not a member.

The Armenian side reaffirmed Armenia's support to Egypt in the ongoing negotiations on the free trade agreement between EAEU and Egypt, which will provide ample opportunities for promoting bilateral trade.

Highly appreciating the strong interstate relations formed in the last thirty years, the interlocutors emphasized further deepening of partnership in various branches of the economy, tourism, education, science and culture.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented the steps taken to overcome the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulted by the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan. The Prime Minister also emphasized the fact of another violation of the declaration of November 9, 2020 by Azerbaijan and emphasized the importance of the international community's attention and adequate response to it.

The sides exchanged thoughts on the processes taking place in the region and the world.