Friday, March 15 2024 16:11

ArmInfo. In the extraordinary sitting of February 15, the NA Standing Committee on European  Integration debated and took note of the report on the implementation process and results of the RA Government programme (2021-2026) for 2023.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Paruyr Hovhannisyan presented  the work carried out in the field last year, noting that the RA-EU  political dialogue has significantly deepened, significantly raising  the level of political dialogue and including new components,  including the security sector.

In 2023, the dialogue between Armenia and the EU on political and  security issues was launched, the first meeting of which was held in  Yerevan on January 26, and the second meeting - in Brussels on  November 15.

The institutional framework of the partnership established by the  RA-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement continued to  function effectively both in 2023 and in the first quarter of 2024.

The Deputy Minister also presented the humanitarian support  implemented by the EU, aimed at the needs of our compatriots forcibly  displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh.

During the financial year, special attention was paid to the  initiation of the dialogue on the liberalization of the RA-EU visas.  The issue was debated during all the high-level meetings and sittings  of the higher political bodies, and the field of legal contracts was  expanded.

During the Q&A session, the Committee Chair Arman Yeghoyan and the  Committee member Sona Ghazaryan inquired about various issues  regarding patents, which concern the citizens. "Unfortunately, I have  to share your concern and note with regret that there is only one  issue where we have not yet achieved any of our results. It's a  matter of patents. As I mentioned, work was done here at all levels,  but I cannot say that there was progress. On the contrary, there was  a setback, even the students going to study within the framework of  the Erasmus programme have problems related to leaving. We also  receive many complaints from the citizens. Once again, we are trying  to activate our work, and we hope that we will make progress in this  matter before the European elections this year," the Deputy Minister  said.

The Deputy Chair of the Committee Meri Galstyan touched upon the  significant growth of the RA-EU trade turnover, pointing out that  compared to 2022, it increased by 17.1%, amounting to 2.7 billion  USD.  "Can we keep and develop this dynamic in the coming years?" she  asked. According to Paruyr Hovhannisyan, a significant increase in  trade with almost all the EU member states is noticeable, which is  explained by several factors. He stated that efforts are being made  to maintain that agility. In particular, a number of new formats and  steps aimed at maintaining and developing trade turnover with the EU  countries will be created.