Armenia world`s only country in world EU conducting visa  liberalization dialogue with - Ursula von der Leyen

ArmInfo.  The European Union has long been Armenia's number one partner in reform-related matters. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at a joint press  conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in  Yerevan on July 2.

He stated that the country's authorities intend to restart reform  programs. Despite consistent steps in this direction in previous  years, this process was constantly accompanied by major challenges -  wars and crises.  Now there is an opportunity to fully focus on  democratic reform programs. The recent elections and the new level of  relations with the European Union create a historic opportunity for  the country. The most important aspect of the reform program should  be bringing all goods produced and services provided in the country  into line with European standards. "This is a strategic objective we  must address, which will allow us to have a more substantive  discussion about EU accession, despite the fact that this is already  a political issue," the Prime Minister said.

In turn, Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that Armenia is currently  the only country in the world with which the EU is conducting a  dialogue on visa liberalization, which speaks volumes about the level  of relations between Yerevan and Brussels. A progress report on this  issue was presented in April of this year.

An EU assessment mission will visit the country this summer, and if  the outcome is positive, and a number of procedures are completed,  the process can move on to practical implementation.