After more than a decade, this is the first high-level visit from the Norwegian side to Armenia. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said Armenia appreciates the presence of the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs in Yerevan, especially during this period full of many challenges, which is a sign of Norway's solidarity with the Armenian people.  His remarks came during the joint press conference with Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt in Yerevan today.

He also mentioned. "It is noteworthy that the visit takes place in the year of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Norway.

We highly appreciate Norway's support for the reforms undertaken by the Armenian government and efforts to strengthen democratic institutions.

I must note with satisfaction that Norway is the country that has allocated the largest voluntary allocation to the CE-Armenia action plans for 2019-2022.

At the same time, I express gratitude for Norway's unprecedented support in the fight against Covid-19. Today we discussed with the Minister the prospects for enhancing cooperation between Armenia and Norway in areas of mutual interest. In this context I would like to highlight the consultations between the Foreign Ministries of our countries and their role.

We expressed mutual readiness to take practical steps to fully utilize our potential in the trade and economic areas. We singled out the IT sector, renewable energy, and digital management as promising areas for economic cooperation.

Today together with the Minister we visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial and paid tribute to the victims of the Genocide.

The Armenian people remember with pride and gratitude the humanist, great friend of the Armenian people Fridtjof Nansen and the missionary Bodilbjorn.

As a tribute, the land of the graves of the two Norwegian humanists is included in the memorial wall of the Armenian Genocide Memorial.

We can state that thanks to these men, Norway has become a pioneer in the protection of human rights in the international arena.

Regional and international developments were also at the center of our discussions. I presented my colleague details of the work on the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement, our position on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. We discussed the situation after Azerbaijan's latest aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia. We appreciate Norway's direct position in support of Armenia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as over the issue of extrajudicial executions of Armenian prisoners of war by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

In this context, we fully expect that Norway, as a pioneer in the protection of human rights, will continue to adhere to this position.

In the context of the prevention of new aggressions by Azerbaijan, I stressed the introduction of international mechanisms for monitoring and controlling the border situation and the support of international partners, including Norway, in this regard.

I reaffirmed the need for the withdrawal of Azerbaijani armed forces from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, the repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war illegally held in Azerbaijan and unconditional respect for the ceasefire, once again stressing the inadmissibility of solving problems through the use of force or the threat of force."