When Europe looks at Armenia, we see a friend, a comrade, and I hope that when Armenia looks at Europe, you also see a partner and an ally. European Parliament president Roberta Metsola stated this during a joint statement with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan Wednesday in Strasbourg, France.

Metsola added as follows: “Under your leadership, dear Prime Minister, there have been many great achievements since our last meeting of the European Political Community in Copenhagen in October. In December, the European Union and Armenia agreed on a new strategic agenda within the framework of the European Union-Armenia partnership. This step will support democratic reforms in our relations, strengthen economic resilience, strengthen the rule of law, and deepen cooperation in the security sector.

We also welcome the fact that an action plan for visa liberalization has been presented. All this contributes to the shared European goal of strengthening our cooperation in various areas, and I am very confident that our parliaments will continue to play a leading role in bringing your country closer to the EU.

In this spirit, we look forward to continuing our discussions, which will take place next week in the framework of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee, which we look forward to with great anticipation and equally look forward to participating in the European Political Community meeting, for which I will be in Yerevan.

In the context of the events on Iran in recent days, Armenia has become a crucial humanitarian corridor. I would like to thank you, thank you for helping to evacuate European citizens.”