France, Armenia sign agreements on scientific, defence cooperation

France and Armenia have signed a series of agreements and memoranda covering scientific and defence cooperation, Armenia’s Ministry of High-Tech Industry has announced.

The ministry said a memorandum of understanding between the two governments provides for cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and semiconductors, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

This includes, among other areas, the development of high-performance computing infrastructure, data science and machine learning, as well as the digitalisation of public services and the application of AI across various sectors of the economy.

Another memorandum between Armenia’s Ministry of High-Tech Industry and France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces aims to deepen cooperation in the development and innovation of military equipment and defence systems.

The defence cooperation also includes the training of Armenian military personnel by French instructors.

During the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, an agreement was also signed on the delivery of six Airbus H145 helicopters to Armenia, along with equipment for Armenian special forces.

In addition, French companies Vinci and Razel-Bec signed a letter of intent to participate in the construction of the Bargushat Tunnel in southern Armenia.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov