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From June 19 the delegation of Armenia-Bulgaria Friendship Group of the RA National Assembly led by Jemma Baghdasaryan had been in Bulgaria on an official visit.

The Vice President of the RA National Assembly Mikayel Melkumyan, deputies Armenuhi Kyureghyan, Aram Sargsyan and Mihran Hakobyan were in the delegation. The RA Ambassador to Bulgaria Armen Sargsyan also joined the Armenian delegation in Sofia.

On June 20, in the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria (RB) the meeting of the delegation with the Vice President of the parliament of Bulgaria Emil Hristov was held.

He has underlined the old friendship formed between the two peoples and their cultural connections which serve as a firm basis for the development of the Armenian-Bulgarian relations. He highlighted the role of the parliamentary diplomacy in the strengthening of bilateral relations and deepening of cooperation.

The Head of the RA NA delegation Jemma Baghdasaryan thanked the Bulgarian side for organizing the visit at high level and warm hospitality. She evaluated the efforts of Bulgaria in strengthening the bilateral relations, expressing gratitude to the RB parliament for ratification of the RA-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement.

Jemma Baghdasaryan emphasized the first visit of the Group, expressing hope that it would be a firm basis for the further development of cooperation in the bilateral political, trade-economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres. In this context she distinguished the importance of practical cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries in the encouragement of democratic processes.

After the meeting the RA delegation visited the Session Hall of the parliament, where the Armenian parliamentarians welcomed the President of the RB National Assembly Tsveta Karayancheva and the participants of the Session.

The meeting of the Friendship Groups of the two countries was held. The necessity of the implementation of the concrete programmes in different spheres of cooperation was highlighted, issues concerning the development of the political relations, the implementation of the sub-structural projects in the economic sphere, the increase of the trade turnover volumes, the decentralised cooperation and the expansion of the Bulgarian MPs’ relations with the Armenian community organisations was discussed.

At the end of the meeting the Memorandum on Cooperation between the RA NA Armenia-Bulgaria Friendship and the RB NA Bulgaria-Armenia Friendship Groups was signed.

An agreement on the visit between the parties was reached in April-May 2017, taking into consideration the circumstances of the necessity of the renewed delegations members of the Friendship Groups formed as a result of the parliamentary elections held in the two countries, the appointment of the RB-RA Group New Chair and boosting of cooperation between the Groups.