YEREVAN. - Armenia’s PM Hovik Abarhamyan today attended the official reception on the German Unity Day.

In his congratulatory speech, the PM congratulated the German Ambassador to Armenia, the Embassy staff and “friendly German people and authorities.”

He noted that the consistent development of relations with Germany was and continues to remain one of the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy. “We attach great importance to the deepening and expansion of cooperation with Germany in both bilateral and multi-lateral formats, including in the framework of the Eastern Partnership. The centuries-old historic and cultural ties between our people, as well as the factor of Germany’s multi-thousand Armenian community serve a favorable ground for the development of the Armenian-German bilateral relations,” the PM said.

Abrahamyan also praised the high-level political dialogue between Armenia and Germany, noting that close relations have been established between the Armenian parliament and German Bundestag.  He also referred to the active cooperation in cultural, educational, trade and economic and other areas. 

“Germany is one of Armenia’s most important trade partners, and number one among the EU states,” he said.

According to Abrahamyan, currently over eighty companies in Armenia operate by German capital. He also stressed the importance of the Armenian-German Intergovernmental Committee on Financial and Technical Cooperation, which plays a significant role in selecting cooperation programs,” Abrahamyan said.

 The PM also underscored the close cooperation between the two countries in the framework of the international peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan.

At the end of his speech, Abrahamyan expressed conviction that the bilateral ties between Armenia and Germany have a great potential. He also expressed hope that due to mutual efforts they will manage to not only retain, but also contribute to the positive dynamics of Armenian-German relations, raising them to a qualitatively new level.