3 Dec. 2003

Armenian President visits NATO News 2/12/2003 - NATO Visit to NATO by the President of Armenia on Wednesday, 3 December 2003 Multimedia High resolution photos Audio file of the Press Point (.MP3/2103Kb) Audio file of the questions & answers (.MP3/2836Kb) The President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, discussed ways of further increasing his country’s cooperation with NATO during a visit to Alliance Headquarters on 3 December. He met for talks with Secretary General Lord Robertson, which focused on proposals for extending and intensifying cooperation between Armenia and NATO, including the establishment of an individual programme of cooperation within the framework of NATO’s Partnership for Peace. They also discussed the latest developments in the region, the situation in Georgia and the international campaign against terrorism. Speaking at a press point following their meeting, Lord Robertson praised the increasing cooperation between Armenia and NATO. He also underlined the Alliance’s commitment to the Caucasus, saying the region was “very much in the frontline against terrorism”. The Secretary General said that NATO recognized this and its cooperation with partners in the region as something which is “not just valuable, it is critical and essential”. He pointed out that at their meeting on 1 and 2 December, Ministers of Defence specifically focused on ways of strengthening NATO’s partnership programme in preparation for next year’s Istanbul Summit. Armenia has been a NATO partner country since 1994 and the country’s cooperation with NATO has been steadily increasing. This year it hosted one of NATO’s Partnership for Peace military exercises.