YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)– "In my opinion–Armenian-American relations are developing in a right direction," said President Robert Kocharian–receiving the outgoing ambassador of the United States in Armenia. Appreciating the activities of Peter Tomsen in Armenia during his term in office–the president pointed out that he had made a valuable contribution to the development of bilateral relations.
Tomsen said he regretted having to leave Armenia where he spent very fruitful and pleasant years. Thanking the Armenian government for effective cooperation and assistance–he expressed hope that his work will also promote stronger ties between the two countries.
Ambassador Tomsen reportedly hailed Armenia’s economic policy aimed at making a consistent advancement towards liberal reforms. According to him–the United States will continue to render assistance to Armenia. In general–financial–banking–energy–democratic and judicial reforms and private sector development will be in the center of attention.
Highly assessing the importance of the US assistance to Armenia–Robert Kocharian underlined that the character of assistance is changing today–passing from humanitarian programs to development programs.
During the meeting the two exchanged views on the Karabakh issue–regional integration and cooperation.