Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian visited Canada

02 June, 2010

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, H.E. Mr. Edward Nalbandian, was on an official visit to Canada from May 30 to June 2, upon invitation of his Canadian counterpart, the Honourable Lawrence Cannon.

During the first meeting with Minister Cannon on May 31, Mr. Nalbandian expressed gratitude for the invitation and warm reception. "In the 21st century, the geographic distance cannot be an obstacle for the expansion of cooperation. We intend to undertake practical steps for the further development of friendly cooperation with Canada”, said Mr. Nalbandian.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Canada touched upon the issues of developing friendly ties between Armenia and Canada, strengthening cooperation within the international organizations, as well as the issues of maintaining security and stability in the South Caucasus region. They discussed the steps undertaken by Armenia for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations and the recent developments of that process.

On the same day Edward Nalbandian met with the Honourable Peter Milliken, the Speaker of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada. The two had a comprehensive discussion on the current stage of the Armenian-Canadian relations and the possibilities of their expansion, the interparliamentary cooperation and the contribution of the Parliaments to the development of bilateral cooperation. Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Canadian Parliament.

In the Canadian Parliament Minister Nalbandian had also a meeting with the members of the all-party “Canada-Armenia” Parliamentary Friendship.

A wide range of issues, including ways of optimizing the consular services to Armenian citizens, were discussed during a meeting with the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. Mr. Nalbandian expressed appreciation for the warm ties that Mr. Kenney maintains with the Canadian-Armenian community.

With the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, Edward Nalbandian discussed possibilities of expanding cooperation between Armenia and Canada in the IT and high-tech sectors. “A number of Canadian IT companies have already established their presence in Armenia, and we are looking forward to seeing more Canadian companies in our country, once nicknamed “The Silicon Valley of the Soviet Union””, said Mr. Nalbandian.

On June 1 Minister Nalbandian attended a question and answer period in the House of Commons where he was officially recognized by the Speaker and warmly welcomed by the Members of Parliament.

Later that day Mr. Nalbandian delivered a lecture at the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies of the Carleton University entitled “Armenia and Her Neigbourhood” Perspectives for New Dynamics”, which was followed by a question and answer period.

In the Armenian Embassy Mr. Nalbandian met the representatives of the Canadian-Armenian community, and answered their numerous questions.

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