YEREVAN. - Armenian PM Hovik Abrahamyan visited the U.S. Embassy in Armenian Friday on occasion of the Independence Day. The head of the Government congratulated Ambassador Richard Mills, the embassy staff and friendly people of the U.S. on the 240^th anniversary of the country’s independence.

In his congratulatory message, the PM specifically said: “On behalf of the Republic of Armenia (RA) and personally myself, I congratulate you, Mr Ambassador, the embassy staff and the friendly people of the U.S. on the 240^th anniversary of the U.S. independence.

We attach great importance to our friendship with the United States and are happy to have raised our bilateral partnership to a qualitatively new level through joint efforts. The American people deeply value this holiday, since the U.S. has not only gained its independence through fighting against the colonial orders, but also shares the values mentioned in the U.S. Declaration of Independence.  Those values are universal and were important not only 240 years ago, but also now. The Armenian people also started declaration of their independence by expressing commitment to those principles. We are grateful to the U.S. Government and people for the invaluable humanitarian and technical support provided by the U.S. government and people since Armenia’s independence.

The United States was the first county to establish its embassy in Armenia. The Armenian-American interstate cooperation has been continuing for 25 years. Today we have rich agenda of cooperation with the U.S. – a dialogue on international and regional security issues, as well as close cooperation in areas of economy, democracy development, defense and energy.

The Government of the Republic of Armenia attaches great importance to the expansion of the American involvement in Armenia’s economy, and we strongly believe that our economic development will enter a new phase. The Armenian-American cooperation also greatly contributes to our compatriots residing in the U.S., who not only contribute to the political, economic and cultural life of the United States, but also have an invaluable input in establishing and strengthening the friendship between both our peoples.  

Armenia highly appreciates the continuous support of the United States as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair aimed at the exclusively peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. The U.S. stance on introducing the incident investigation mechanisms of ceasefire violations and expansion of the Personal Representative of OSCE the Chairperson-in-Office is important in terms of ruling out the escalation and continuing the peaceful settlement process.

We highly appreciate the mediation efforts introduced by the U.S. Government and expect them to maximally contribute to maintaining peace in the region.

Finally, I once again congratulate the entire nation of the United States of America on Independence Day and wish you peace and prosperity. I also wish long-lasting friendship to both our peoples.”