YEREVAN. – Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, on Monday received newly appointed Norwegian Ambassador Helene Sand Andresen, the NA informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The parties discussed a number of issues related to the development of Armenian-Norwegian relations. Also, they highlighted the implementation of programs aimed at intensifying interparliamentary cooperation.

In addition, the NA speaker emphasized the necessity of deepening the cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries at various international platforms.

They touched also upon regional security and stability, emphasizing in this context the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in the process of achieving a comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict. In this regard, Simonyan stressed the priority of returning the Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians who are still held in Azerbaijan.

Democracy and human rights were also at the focus of their talk.