Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan today received newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Sweden to Armenia Patrik Svensson.

Congratulating Ambassador Svensson on his appointment, Mirzoyan voiced hope that the Ambassador will make his major contribution to the expansion of the Armenian-Swedish cooperation.

Mirzoyan stated that democracy, rule of law and the fight against corruption are of major significance for Armenia and attached importance to Sweden’s ongoing support to the reforms in the mentioned sectors, as well as the assistance in implementation of the UNDP’s Modern Parliament for Modern Armenia Program.

During a discussion on the solutions to humanitarian issues that emerged in consequence of the war that Azerbaijan unleashed against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the parliamentary speaker raised the issue of the speedy return of Armenian prisoners of war and captives and underscored the international community’s active steps.

In his turn, Ambassador Svensson stressed that Sweden attaches importance to the expansion of cooperation with Armenia in different sectors. Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Ambassador attached importance to the work of the Co-Chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group and also considered the return of captured persons necessary from the perspective of international humanitarian law. He also touched upon full implementation of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement starting from March 1, 2021, adding that this will convey new quality to the relations between Armenia and the European Union.