Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and French President Emmanuel Macron announced a major expansion of bilateral cooperation and signed an agreement establishing a strategic partnership between Armenia and France during Macron’s state visit to Yerevan.
Following talks and a document-signing ceremony, the two leaders highlighted cooperation in infrastructure, defense, economy, education, culture and Armenia’s peace process with Azerbaijan.
Pashinyan described the agreements signed during the visit as evidence of the growing depth and scope of Armenian-French relations, placing particular emphasis on a new agreement concerning the construction of the Bargushat tunnel as part of Armenia’s North–South highway project.
According to the Armenian prime minister, the project represents not only a new phase in the North–South transport corridor but also an opportunity to introduce higher European standards into Armenia’s road construction sector through the involvement of French companies.
Pashinyan said he had personally raised the issue with Macron during earlier discussions, noting that Armenia’s goal is not only to adopt European standards on paper but also to gain the technical expertise and institutional capacity necessary to implement them.
He expressed confidence that the participation of French construction firms would help spread new professional standards throughout Armenia’s economy.
“This is one of the super-projects being implemented in our country,” Pashinyan said, describing the Bargushat section as one of the most technically challenging parts of the North–South highway.
The Armenian premier also thanked Macron for supporting Armenia across a broad range of areas, including the economy, security, defense, diplomacy, Armenia–EU relations, education and culture.
Pashinyan further highlighted recent progress in the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process, emphasizing that the Alma-Ata Declaration has been formally accepted as a key principle for border delimitation between the two countries and incorporated into the pre-initialed peace agreement.
According to him, the architecture of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is now based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity, sovereignty and the inviolability of borders.
Without exaggeration, Pashinyan said, Macron played a “key role” in helping Armenia and Azerbaijan reach those understandings through diplomatic persistence and flexibility.
The Armenian leader described the newly signed Armenia–France strategic partnership agreement as the culmination of bilateral cooperation, saying the two countries had already achieved significant results even before formalizing the partnership.
“If we have achieved this much without a strategic partnership agreement, I can only imagine what successes await us now,” Pashinyan said.
For his part, Macron praised Armenia’s transformation over recent years, saying the country had passed through war, then peace and now prosperity.
The French president noted that Armenia’s economy recorded average annual growth of nearly 6 percent in recent years and said the country had chosen the path of peace, democracy and closer integration with Europe despite major challenges.
“Armenia has always been a full member of the European family,” Macron said, adding that the progress achieved in recent years would have been difficult to imagine only eight years ago.
Macron pointed to the recent European Political Community summit and the first-ever EU–Armenia summit held in Yerevan as signs of Armenia’s growing role in Europe’s political landscape.
He said the agreements signed during the visit open a new stage in bilateral relations by expanding investment, strengthening defense cooperation and supporting Armenia’s ties with the European Union, including progress toward visa liberalization.
Among the projects highlighted by Macron was the agreement involving French companies Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Razel-Bec for the construction of the Bargushat tunnel.
He also pointed to French participation in Armenia’s water infrastructure sector through Veolia, including the Vedi reservoir project and irrigation modernization programs supported by the French Development Agency.
Macron said Armenia and France have also entered a new phase of cooperation in defense and security, noting that the strategic partnership agreement further strengthens efforts to modernize Armenia’s armed forces and reinforce the country’s sovereignty.
He additionally emphasized the importance of educational, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two countries, mentioning newly signed agreements between the National Library of France, the Yerevan Museum of Literature and Art, and Matenadaran.
The French president also praised the role of the French University in Armenia, which currently has around 2,300 students and more than 3,600 graduates.
Concluding his remarks, Macron reiterated France’s commitment to supporting Armenia’s efforts to achieve lasting peace in the South Caucasus and welcomed recent progress in trade relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
