Democracy to help Armenia meet challenges - EU Ambassador, Security  Council Sec 

ArmInfo.Armenia is an important partner of the Eastern Partnership project. This was stated by the  Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Armenia Vasilis Maragos on July 3 at the forum "RA-Eastern Partnership-EU: Challenges and Opportunities of Partnership".

The head of the EU Delegation to Armenia recalled that this year  marks the 15th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership. Despite this,  the tool still remains relevant and in demand and has produced good  results - many countries, including Armenia, have become closer to  Europe.

"We are now working on a new partnership agenda with Armenia under  the umbrella of the EaP, as well as in a bilateral format with  Armenia, working towards a program to strengthen the sustainability  and growth of the Republic of Armenia, as announced on April 5 of  this year. in Brussels. We will continue to work together and with  all stakeholders to support your reforms, reaffirm support for the  sovereignty, democracy, territorial integrity and socio-economic  sustainability of the Republic of Armenia," said the European  diplomat.

Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan confirms that the Eastern  Partnership project is successful, and it has many positive results.  "15 years ago, when the Eastern Partnership was created, basically  the post-Soviet countries were more similar to each other, but over  15 years they have undergone great changes, and probably the main  requirement is an individual approach to all these member countries,"  noted Grigoryan.

As the Security Council Secretary pointed out, diversification is  very important for Armenia's ability to withstand challenges, both  economically and in terms of security. Democracy, according to the  conviction of the RA authorities, definitely increases the stability  of Armenia, he emphasized.

"Democracy is one of the main tools with which Armenia can counter  its threats. Democracy is also very important from the point of view  of internal security. We are convinced that democracy helps improve  internal security, economic development, and the fight against  corruption, and this, in turn, brings great results," said Armen  Grigoryan.

Following the Brussels meeting of the Prime Minister of the Republic  of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the President of the European Commission  Ursula von der Leyen, the Vice-President of the European Commission,  the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and  Security Policy Josep Borrell, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken  and the head of USAID Samantha Power adopted a statement stating that  in order to strengthen the new Armenia-EU partnership agenda, the  European Union will come up with a ?270 million program "Armenia's  Sustainability and Growth for 2024-2027." The program will aim to  strengthen the socio-economic sustainability of the Republic of  Armenia while supporting trade diversification. It will also provide  support to meet the long-term needs of displaced people. This will  strengthen industry cooperation with Armenia while increasing support  for regulatory harmonization aimed at realizing the full potential of  CEPA. The EU will continue to support key areas:  from trade  diversification, infrastructure development, energy to aviation  security.

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a specific Eastern dimension to the  ENP that was launched in 2009. The aim of the partnership is to  strenghten and deepen the political and economic relations between  the European Union, its Member States and six Eastern European and  South Caucasus 'partner countries':  Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,  Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

The EaP supports the delivery of many global policy objectives,  including the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the UN 2030  Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. It contributes to the  overall goal of increasing the stability, prosperity, and resilience  of the EU's neighbours as set out in the Global Strategy for the  foreign and security policy of the European Union.