YEREVAN.-Armenia and Moldova, along with traditional areas of cooperation, can develop relations in the field of information technology and innovation, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said a joint briefing with Moldovan President Igor Dodon in Yerevan on Thursday.

President Sargsyan noted that "Mr Dodon is for the first time in Armenia on an official visit. And he is the only and the first President of Moldova who visited Armenia. This visit is symbolic since it is taking place in the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. The ties between our peoples exist not for a century, and this highlights the depth of our relations and the mutual
sympathy of the two peoples.

We have discussed a wide range of issues. During the discussions we both expressed a wish to develop the cooperation and utilize the great potential of bilateral relations. We consider the decision to open an Armenian Embassy in Chișinău last year as a practical step on this path.

Together with Mr. President we paid a special attention to the development of cooperation in commercial field. Despite that the trade turnover between Armenia and Moldova has increased by 33% in the first 9 months of 2017 compared to the same period of 2016, moreover, the export of Armenian products increased by 2.1 times, we cannot be satisfied by this, and it is necessary to assist the business so that to give stable nature to this growth trend. I think that in line with the traditional ways of cooperation in economy, our countries also need to pay more attention to high technologies, innovations.

We hope that the Inter-governmental commission will move forward the entire range of issues of the bilateral economic agenda, will assist its diversification and launch of new interesting programs. Moreover, we have agreed to hold a session of the Intergovernmental commission not later than next year in spring.

A special attention was also paid on the cooperation in the cultural-humanitarian sphere."