The first high-ranking guest from the Caucasus
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan left for an official visit to Japan yesterday and his first meeting was with speaker of the Japanese parliament, Takahiro Yokomichi.
Japan's parliamentary speaker and the Armenian Foreign Minister touched upon issues related to promotion of inter-parliamentary cooperation. In this context, the Minister informed that the Armenian National Assembly has already created an Armenia-Japan Friendship Group and the Armenian side awaits the creation of a similar group in the newly elected Japanese parliament in order to further cooperation.
Yokomichi praised Armenia's efforts aimed at normalizing relations with Turkey and establishing peace in the region. He expressed confidence that the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations will have a positive effect on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The Armenian Foreign Minister's next meeting was with his Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada. Greeting Edward Nalbandyan, Minister Okada said that this was his first meeting with a high-ranking official from the Caucasus after taking office and that it served as a good opportunity to discuss the steps to be taken for further development of bilateral relations.
The Ministers discussed issues related to the strengthening of ties within international organizations, further cooperation in science and education, creation of the legal-contractual field, reinforcement of cultural interchange and facilitation of the entrance visa regime.
The sides also touched upon the resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Minister Nalbandyan presented his Japanese counterpart with the results of the meeting of the Armenian and Azeri presidents in Munich. Minister Okada mentioned that Japan supports the negotiations within the framework of the Minsk Group and the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict according to principles of international law.
The Armenian Foreign Minister invited his Japanese counterpart to visit Armenia and a joint conference was held to sum-up the results of the meeting.
After the meeting, Edward Nalbandyan and Katsuya Okada exchanged notes on providing special equipment for repairing the collections kept at the National Gallery of Armenia.
