ArmInfo. Armenia highly appreciates the warm and caring attitude of the Iranian authorities towards the Armenian community, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in an interview to IRNA.
Armenian Prime Minister expressed conviction that a strong and vibrant Diaspora is one of the pillars of Armenia's development. At the same time he added that Armenian communities living in different parts of the world and becoming an indivisible part of country's life are a kind of bridge for the strengthening of bilateral relations.
According to Pashinyan, the centuries-old Iranian-Armenian community is not an exception in this regard. ''It has made a practical contribution in terms of developing Iran's social, economic and cultural wealth. It has been a serious factor in promoting our bilateral relations from the very beginning of restoration of Armenia's independence. We highly appreciate the warm and caring attitude of the Iranian authorities towards the Iranian-Armenian community. I want to emphasize the Iranian authorities' caring attitude towards Armenian cultural values'', Pashinyan said. Touching upon cooperation in tourism field Pashinyan stated that tourism development is one of our country's priorities, and Armenia makes great efforts to make our country attractive to tourists. ''Following the visa abolition arrangement in 2016, the number of Iranian tourists visiting Armenia has considerably increased, especially in the days of the Iranian New Year - Novruz. Special events are being held in these days for ensuring the security of Iranian tourists; 911 services are available in Persian. I think that tourism is a promising field, and the indicators tend to grow in that area'', he summarized.
To note, according to official data, from 2014 to 2017, visits from Iran to Armenia increased dramatically. In 2014, 116 thousand 324 visitors from Iran visited Armenia, in 2015 - 144 thousand 160, in 2016 - 188 thousand 851, in 2017 - 220 thousand 147. And only in 2018 the number of visitors decreased to 160 thousand 645, which , according to the data of the RA State Tourism Committee, is due to the deterioration of the economic situation in Iran. In the framework of bilateral cooperation, a Memorandum of Understanding was ratified on June 5, 2016, providing for mutual visits of citizens without a visa. On December 21, 2016, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Armenia and Iran on cultural heritage, crafts and travel arrangements.