Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte has sent a congratulatory message to acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on his victory in the snap parliamentary elections held in Armenia. The congratulatory message particularly reads as follows:

“The holding of free and competitive parliamentary elections attests to Armenia’s commitment to continuing on a democratic path after the velvet revolution. The reforms and democratic transformations in Armenia haven’t gone unnoticed. I sincerely hope you will continue to implement those major reforms, in spite of the unfavorable security environment.

With the hope for ongoing cooperation, I express confidence that together we will be able to successfully contribute to the deepening of the close partnership between Armenia and the Netherlands. The Netherlands will strengthen economic cooperation, particularly in agriculture and the IT sector.

We attach great importance to our partnership within the scope of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, and I anticipate an effective summit of the Eastern Partnership at the end of this year. I also highly appreciate our close cooperation within the framework of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Unfortunately, we had to postpone your planned visit to the Netherlands in April of this year due to the pandemic in both of our countries. I sincerely hope the year 2022 will be more favorable in this regard, and I look forward to hosting you in the Netherlands with pleasure to mark the successes of our diplomatic relations of the past thirty years. I wish you success in overcoming the challenges facing Armenia and for the benefit of the Armenian people.”