Armenia, France sign pacts to strengthen strategic, economic cooperation

Armenia and France have further strengthened their diplomatic and economic cooperation by signing three agreements following talks between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot.

The first document signed was a declaration of intentions, which outlines a framework for annual consultations between the two foreign ministries, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

The declaration also includes joint initiatives to combat disinformation and provisions for diplomatic retraining programs, underlining a shared commitment to closer diplomatic engagement and information integrity.

The second agreement was a protocol amending the existing intergovernmental agreement on the operations of the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Investment and Promotions company for Economic Cooperation (Proparco). The amendments expand the scope of the original agreement to include Expertise France, the French public agency for international technical cooperation. Expertise France is expected to play a key role in supporting Armenia’s local self-government bodies and state institutions through targeted capacity-building and development programs.

Additionally, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Gohar Galyan, Acting CEO at Enterprise Armenia, and French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies, representing Business France. The agreement aims to bolster trade and investment ties by facilitating greater collaboration between Armenian and French enterprises.

During a joint press conference in Yerevan, the two foreign ministers underscored their shared ambition to elevate the already robust partnership between Armenia and France.

“We are working to give a formal status to the strategic relations that already exist between our two countries,” said Minister Mirzoyan, echoing sentiments expressed by his French counterpart.

By Vafa Guliyeva