Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Tuesday held a meting with his French counterpart Francois Hollonde in Paris.

President Sargsyan thanked his counterpart for warm reception, noting it is pleasure to visit friendly France.

Sargsyan said that over the past 20 years, the Armenian- French relations have experienced continuous progress, reaching the highest level. He noted that the Paris and Yerevan managed to achieve such quality of the relationship through political dialogue, as well as through mutual visits at high level, closer inter-parliamentary cooperation, cultural, scientific and educational ties.

The states have developed a tradition to hold a meeting at the presidential level at least once a year to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation as well as cooperation between Armenia and EU, regional and global challenges, Sargsyan emphasized.

Armenian leader spoke about the presence of leading French companies in the Armenian market, expressing hope that new ones will join them in the near future. He also underscored importance of programs of the French Development Agency.

As to inter-parliamentary cooperation, the presidents of Armenia and France noted with satisfaction that the parliaments of the two countries have active friendship groups. President Sargsyan said it has been a year since Armenia became a full member of the International Organisation of La Francophonie and has been successfully developing the Armenian- French cultural ties.

President Serzh Sargsyan thanked Francois Hollande for long-term efforts of the French side aimed at finding a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Presidents of Armenia and France reiterated that they see no alternative to a peaceful resolution of the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that Armenia attaches special importance to the personal engagement of the President of France in this matter.

The sides also discussed in detail the prospects of Armenia-EU relations. They agreed on the necessity to use every effort to maintain the pace and quality of cooperation and continuation of the reforms in Armenia.

President Hollande assured that France, as a friend of Armenia and one of the leading countries in the EU, as well as a major international actor, will continue to promote the advancement of the European agenda for Armenia.

President of Armenia thanked France for its significant contribution to the process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

In order to provide continuous high-level dialogue between the two friendly countries, President Sargsyan confirmed his invitation to President Hollande to pay a state visit to Armenia.