On the sidelines of his official visit, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on Monday met with Executive Director of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker.

The interlocutors discussed the Armenian-Qatari cooperation in the sphere of aviation and the opportunities of its development. President Sargsyan underscored the importance of the significant role of the flights carried out by Qatar Airways in terms of expanding the agenda of bilateral interstate relations.

Qatar Airways has entered the Armenian market since May 2016, carrying out regular air transportation by Doha-Yerevan-Doha route.

According to the President, the circumstance of the existence of direct flights has a decisive role in the increase in the number of tourists visiting Armenia from Gulf countries, including Qatar.

Noting that since 2013 Armenia has adopted the Open Skies policy, Sarsgyan stressed that this policy conducted by Armenia in the sphere of civil aviation and air transportation gives new opportunities both to Armenian and foreign airline companies, ensuring equal and free competitive conditions for everyone.

According to the President, Armenia will welcome and support the Qatari investors in different sectors of the country’s economy, including aviation.

Mr Akbar Al Baker, for his part, told Sargsyan that he had already been instructed by the Emir of Qatar to develop cooperation with Armenia in the sphere headed by him. He also assured that he will do his best to carry out that instruction. Furthermore, the Executive Director of Qatar Airways noted that the airline company sees the potential for developing cooperation and seeks to develop mutually beneficial relations.