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On February 7, the Chair of the RA NA Armenia-Sweden Friendship Group Samvel Farmanyan and the members Aram Manukyan, Tevan Poghosyan, Edmon Marukyan and Karen Shahmuradyan met with the representatives of the parliament of the Kngdom of Sweden being on a working visit in Armenia.

Welcoming their guest in the parliament, Samvel Farmanyan highlighted the role of the parliamentary diplomacy in the development of the relations between the two countries and thanked the Swedish MPs for supporting the initiatives of the Armenian delegations at different international platforms. Mr Farmanyan underlined the leading role of the Scandinavian countries in the world and especially, Sweden in the protection of human rights and dissemination of democracy.

He expressed hope that his Swedish counterparts will also cooperate with the MPs of the parliament of the next convocation, expanding the frames of cooperation and communication.

The NA deputy Tevan Poghosyan highly assessed the policy pursued by the Swedish delegation against manifestations of intolerance and xenophobia. Mr Poghosyan proposed his Swedish counterparts to create a working group, which will be involved in the exchange of experience regarding the issues of the refugees’ integration, taking into consideration the fact that Armenia is in the third place in the world in terms of giving asylum the Syrian refugees.

Tevan Poghosyan offered them to enliven the cooperation between the representatives of the civil society of the two countries, as well as within the framework of the Eastern Partnership.

Emphasizing the work of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden to Armenia and especially the Ambassador, the NA deputy Aram Manukyan touched upon the deepening of cultural ties between the two countries, underscoring that the cultural ties and the various programmes underway will genuinely promote the expansion of cooperation in all spheres.

Thanking for the reception, the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of Parliament of the Kingdom of Sweden Kenneth G. Forslund introduced the members of the delegation. Attaching importance to the European Neighbourhood policy, he has noted that they aimed at visiting regional countries: Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Mr Forslund highly assessed the activities of the Parliamentary Friendship Groups of the two countries, considering it one of the best formats of the nations’ contact.

Wishing success to his counterparts in the upcoming parliamentary elections, Kenneth G. Forslund expressed hope to meet and cooperate with the Armenian MPs also in future.