The President of the Republic delivered a speech at the 7th European Corporate Council

Within the framework of his working visit to New York, President Vahagn Khachaturyan delivered a speech at the 7th European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East

President Vahagn Khachaturyan's speech:

"Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to express my gratitude to President Ghribi for the opportunity to participate in the 7th European Corporate Council.

Armenia attaches particular importance to the deepening its relations with African states and seeks to develop economic, trade, cultural and educational cooperation with region. Despite the geographical distance, we share common goals of sustainable development, formation of peaceful and inclusive societies, ensuring access to justice for all and many others.

While every sector - be it education, environment, health, economy, energy or agro-industry - is of crucialimportance for sustainable development, one should admit that we cannot consider progress and prosperity if we have lack of peace.

Peace is the foundation on which development is grounded in, and society flourishes.

After decades long conflict, at a point Armenia reshaped its thinking, based on imperative of establishment of peace. Only such a vision promotes growth, stimulates development, and lifts the people out of poverty. It supports democracy and gives citizens the right to choose. It evolves freedom, justice, equality and security.

Slightly more than a month ago the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the United States, in this county's capital Washington D.C., initialed Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and adopted trilateral declaration on the peace process. This very progress became possible to the personal engagement of President Trump and his Administration's efforts to put an end to 3-decades long conflict. "It always seems impossible until it's done," - once said a great son of Africa Nelson Mandela.

Following establishment of conditions conducive to peace - building of a modern, competitive, economically advanced and politically stable country is a top priority for Armenia's leadership. While our greatest asset is the educated, diligent and law-abiding society.

I put "educated" first, since absolutely confident that education is the key element to overcome poverty, paving the way to progress and prosperity of a society. One can't verbalize better than Nelson Mandela has done, by saying: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." I believe this is the best way to describe the value and power of education.

Dear Colleagues,

Armenia has been elected to host the 17th meeting COP17 on Biodiversity, to be held in Yerevan, October 2026. I sincerely looking forward to welcoming you and your countries distinguished high-level delegations in Armenia.

My country is ready to expand cooperation with African partners, as we have mutual interests and commonchallenges in the field of biodiversity.

We also look forward to cooperating with our international partners to bring the global environmental process back on track.

I also want to reiterate Armenia's readiness to raise theconcerns of vulnerable regions, foster inclusive partnerships, and mobilize international financial resources within the framework of the COP17 Presidency.

I would like to seize this opportunity to inform you, that Armenia takes an active role and supports the creation of strong international mechanisms to prevent and eliminate crimes against humanity. We strongly believe that human rights violations must receive adequate and equal response in all conflicts.

Today we are witnessing a widespread retreat from democratic principles. This process is accompanied by a relentless attack on the foundations of democratic institutions. It is therefore necessary to unite our efforts to counter all pressures and threats and to unconditionally uphold the rules by which we want to be guided.

Dear Friends,

I started my remarks from commending the peace in my region, and similarly I would like to conclude with the same message, wishing to the great African continent - full of talented, motivated and ambitious men and women - lasting and durable peace - as a key element for safety and security, as well as progress and prosperity."