YEREVAN. - The Armenian-American ties have constantly been on the rise since the independence of Armenia. President Serzh Sargsyan said the aforementioned during the reception of the US Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Bridget Brink, who has arrived in Armenia to attend the subsequent session of the U.S. - Armenian Intergovernmental Commission.   

Sargsyan attached great importance to the activity of the Commission, which, according to him, is an important and successful format for coordinating the bilateral trade and economic cooperation. In the President’s words, one of the important achievements in trade and economic relations was the signing of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which also proves the effectiveness of the Commission operation. 

Sargsyan stressed that the progress in Armenian-American relations is due to the bilateral efforts and mutual political will.

The interlocutors agreed that currently the agenda of the bilateral relations includes many different areas: political, economic, security, humanitarian, etc. in the framework of which new achievements are recorded each year. According to them, Armenia and the U.S. have strong partnership relations both in bilateral and multilateral cooperation formats.

Sargsyan also highly appreciated the U.S. support provided to Armenia during many years, specifically in the area of economic development, improvement in different spheres, establishment of democracy and civil society in the country. He also praised the U.S. efforts aimed at ensuring peace and stability in the region.   

Apart from this, the President attached importance to the continuous efforts of the U.S. as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairing country in normalizing the Karabakh conflict.

Ms. Brink also praised the current level of the U.S.-Armenian relations, stressing that she has arrived in Armenia first of all to express the U.S. appreciation for the bilateral cooperation in the area of security, which, according to her, is especially important in the context of the recent developments and Paris attacks.  

According to Ms Brink, along with their local partners they are continuing to support Armenia in struggle against corruption, as well as development of democracy, including insurance of transparency, inclusiveness and representational issues in the referendum on constitutional amendments to be held in the country on December 6.