On February 25 Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian started his visit to Austria.
On the same day Edward Nalbandian had talks with Michael Spindelegger, Austrian Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Minister for European and International Affairs.
The tête à tête meeting was followed by talks with the participation of delegations.
Welcoming the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Austrian Foreign Minister mentioned that in the recent years the Armenian-Austrian bilateral relations have developed thanks to joint efforts and they were marked by the official visit of Heinz Fischer, Federal President of the Republic of Austria.
Expressing gratitude to his Austrian counterpart for the invitation to visit Vienna, Edward Nalbandian noted with satisfaction with the numerous meetings recently at the Ministerial level, regular consultations between the MFAs of the two countries and expansion of legal framework.
The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Austria touched upon the implementation of the agreements reached during the official visit of the Austrian President to Yerevan, including the preparatory works of upcoming visit of the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan to Austria.
Foreign Ministers Nalbandian and Michael Spindelegger had a thorough talk on the ways to enlarge bilateral cooperation in various spheres, to deepen cooperation in the European structures and international organizations, and to intensify inter-parliamentary ties. The sides exchanged views on regional and global issues as well.
In the course of the talks, the cooperation between Armenia and the European Union and the processes unrolling in the frames of the Eastern Partnership were discussed, as well.
Upon the request of the Austrian side, Minister Nalbandian presented the efforts undertaken by Armenia and the international community towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
In the evening Edward Nalbandian delivered a speech on the priorities Armenia’s foreign policy at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna which is one of Europe’s oldest institutions of international relations. Ambassadors and diplomats accredited to Vienna, officials of international organizations and foreign ministry, leading political scientists and media representatives attended the meeting. After the speech, Edward Nalbandian answered various questions of the attendees.
Before the speech Edward Nalbandian and Hans Winkel, the Rector of the Diplomatic Academy, had a separate meeting, during which questions were discussed about expansion of cooperation between the Austrian diplomatic institution and the Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.
