YEREVAN. - President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday received the Riksdag (parliamentary) delegation of Sweden led by the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Kenneth Forslund.

Welcoming the Swedish guests, the President underscored the role of the parliamentarians in the development and strengthening of interstate relations. He also noted that the relations between Armenia and Sweden are characterized by dynamic progress, assuring that Armenia is interested in maintaining that dynamics with Sweden, which is one of its important and reliable partners in the Scandinavian region.According to Sargsyan, the wish to give new quality to the bilateral relations is conditioned not only by political and economic interests but also the considerations of the system of values: for Armenia Sweden is an exemplary country dedicated to the European system of values, established democracy, high level of human rights implementation and rule of law, which Armenia strives to through making reforms.

Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Kenneth Forslund, for his part, noted that the agenda of the visit to Armenia is quite loaded and productive.  He also stressed that the issues which relate to the European Neighborhood Policy and Eastern Partnership are constantly in the center of the Swedish parliament’s attention, being actively discussed.

The Swedish parliament has a multi-party agreement on these issues and irrespective of the party affiliation, there is support for this cooperation and, in particular, for the programs launched by the EU within the framework of the cooperation with the Eastern Partnership countries, Mr Forslund noted.

Apart from the bilateral Armenian-Swedish relations, the interlocutor referred to the talks round the Armenia-EU Framework Agreement, the cooperation of Armenia with the European institutions, as well as the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia and their importance at this stage of transition to the new governance system.