The United States and Armenia signed an agreement Tuesday on “mutual assistance” of their customs authorities.
The agreement was signed by Armenia’s State Revenue chief, Rustam Badasyan, and U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien at the conclusion of what is called a capstone meeting of the Armenia-U.S. Strategic Dialogue, being held in Yerevan and attended by James O’Brien, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
While the specific details of the agreement were not publicized, the event was seen as a sign of growing ties between the U.S. and Armenia.
O’Brien said that the U.S. will continue to “work on” closer defense and security ties with Armenia.
“We support the government’s efforts to make the rule of law fundamental, fight corruption, and empower people to express themselves democratically,” O’Brien said, adding that the U.S. also supports efforts to bring lasting peace to the region and is working to expand economic opportunity.
“We know that security, prosperity, and democracy coexist for Armenia.We support all efforts in these directions. We also support efforts to establish lasting peace. We work to expand economic opportunity – from Central Asia to the Mediterranean Sea. If there is lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, these opportunities will be more,” explained O’Brien.
“We will continue working on justice reform and defense and security issues. Our first joint military exercises took place last year, and we’re looking forward to more. We expect to work in cybersecurity, borders, energy, and nutritional security. We are ready to support Armenia. Our plan is to replace this Strategic Dialogue with a Strategic Partnership Commission, which will allow for greater depth of cooperation,” concluded O’Brien.
“We are interested in further exploring possibilities for cooperation for Armenia’s defense transformation,” Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said in remarks delivered at the meeting.
“Today’s meeting is yet another expression of high-level political dialogue between our two countries that will give another impetus to the evolving partnership between Armenia and the United States,” Mirzoyan said during the talks. “The bilateral agenda continues to expand and include dimensions critical for the resilience and sustainable development of Armenia.”
Mirzoyan added that Armenia remains committed to normalizing relations with Azerbaijan and demarcating the state border, based on the mutual recognition of territorial integrity based on the Alma-Ata Declaration.
“There is a real opportunity, a historic moment, to finalize the draft peace treaty; signing it can open a new door for long-term peace in the region,” Mirzoyan said.