Armenia, China pledge to strengthen bilateral cooperation

PanARMENIAN.Net - President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao exchanged congratulatory messages on Friday, April 6 as the two nations celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

“Ties between China and Armenia have maintained a sound and smooth development over the past 20 years with ever deepening mutual understanding, as well as fruitful cooperation in trade, investment, communication, agriculture, technology and culture. The two nations have also actively engaged in consultation and coordination of international and regional affairs, which has substantially protected their common interests,” Chinese President said.

He further said China would like to take the anniversary as an opportunity to further consolidate the foundation for bilateral cooperation, strengthen political exchanges, and promote pragmatic cooperation so as to further step up bilateral ties.

For his part, President Sargsyan said that with the joint efforts of the two countries over the past two decades, bilateral cooperation has been constantly increased in politics, trade, industry, technology, defense, culture, education and sports.

“Developing a friendly partnership with China has always been one of Armenia's diplomatic priorities,” said Sargsyan, adding that his country speaks highly of China's principled stance on safeguarding world peace.

He voiced Armenia’s readiness to continue to work with China within the framework of international institutions and promote bilateral ties to a new level.

The foreign ministers of the two countries also exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the anniversary, Xinhua news agency reported.