Official welcoming ceremony of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his spouse Anna Hakobyan was held at the Istana government residence in Singapore.

Pashinyan and Hakobyan were met in the courtyard of the residence by the Prime Minister of Singapore, Hsien Loong, and his wife, Ho Ching.

Welcoming Pashinyan’s official visit to Singapore, Hsien Loong stressed that the visit would give a new impetus to the cooperation of the two states in different directions. According to him, Armenia and the Armenian people are highly respected in their country, and the government is interested in active interaction with the Armenian side. The head of the Singapore Cabinet, in particular, noted the importance of cooperation in the economic area, emphasizing the need to develop and expand trade and economic ties.

Pashinyan, in turn, expressed confidence that, due to effective bilateral negotiations, the Armenian-Singaporean relations will be expanded consistently. He stressed that the whole world is impressed by the experience of Singapore’s development, and Armenia also considers it an example.

“We are interested in deepening political, economic and humanitarian cooperation, closer ties between nations,” he said.

Pashinyan also presented the priorities of the Armenian government, stressing that their goal is to turn Armenia into a country in a technological economy. In this regard, he emphasized the importance of developing cooperation in IT sector.

During the meeting, the Prime Ministers of Armenia and Singapore discussed issues related to the implementation of joint investment programs, increase in trade volume, opportunities for cooperation in high technologies, tourism, aviation and others.

Pashinyan presented the steps undertaken in Armenia to improve institutional reforms and the business environment. In turn, Singapore's Prime Minister welcomed the systemic changes being implemented in Armenia.

The interlocutors also raised the issue of signing an agreement on the creation of a free trade zone between the Eurasian Economic Union and Singapore. The parties expressed confidence that this will also give new impetus to the process of increasing trade volume.

The parties agreed to hold the Days of Armenian Culture in Singapore as an effort to boost tourism.

During the meeting, issues of regional importance were also discussed.