The Permanent Representative of Armenia to the Council of Europe (CoE) Paruyr Hovhannisyan extended his credential to the CoE Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland on Friday.

The official ceremony was followed by a meeting during which Paruyr Hovhannisyan stressed the valuable role of the organization in the continuous strengthening of democracy, human rights and rule of law in Armenia during the country’s 15 years of membership to the CoE, Armenian MFA press-service reports.

Apart from this, Hovhannisyan reconfirmed the commitment of the Armenian authorities to continue the close cooperation with the organization’s expert and advisory bodies to further strengthen the democratic institutions and processes in Armenia in light of the constitutional amendments.

Welcoming the newly-appointed permanent representative of Armenia, the CoE Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland noted that as an active member of the organization, Armenia is consistently involved in the organization’s processes and current activities.  The Secretary General also expressed satisfaction with the mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as the positive steps carried out by the Armenian authorities towards guaranteeing the CoE norms in the process of constitutional and legislative reforms initiated in Armenia.  

At the meeting, the interlocutors also referred to the pressing issues on the regional and international agenda, as well as the cooperation with other international organizations.