Armenia hopes ongoing negotiations with Turkiye on opening border  will bear fruit - Alen Simonyan

ArmInfo. Below is Speaker of the RA National Assembly Alen Simonyan's speech at the 19th Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean

Excellencies,

Dear colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

First, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Ignazio La Russa,  President of the Senate, Mr. Lorenzo Fontana, President of the  Chamber of Deputies, and Mr. Enaam Mayara, President of the  Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, for the invitation to  take this distinguished floor.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean is a unique platform,  as it addresses such issues as counter-terrorism, confidence  building, peace support, conflict resolution, economic integration,  and many other pressing problems that the world faces today.

Armenia shares deep civilizational ties with Mediterranean nations,  rooted in centuries of historical connections. The Armenian Diaspora,  with its vibrant presence across the region, has long served as a  bridge for cultural exchange and strong relations.

Our country is not a member of the Union for the Mediterranean but  cooperates with it on initiatives related to sustainable development  and regional stability. Driven by economic, cultural, and  geopolitical interests, we are actively cooperating with countries in  the region.

Armenia is a founding member of the Organization of the Black Sea  Economic Cooperation (BSEC), whose activities and those of the Union  often overlap. Armenia advocates stronger synergies between the BSEC  and its partners in the pursuit of shared goals.

Taking advantage of being present here, I would like to express our  aspiration of becoming a partner state of the Parliamentary Assembly  of the Mediterranean.

Armenia is active in the format of the Landlocked Developing  Countries. As a landlocked country whose eastern and western borders  have been blockaded for over three decades, our country is acutely  aware of the importance of open borders and a fully functioning  transportation infrastructure. The elimination of political barriers  to the free movement of people, cargo, and services is necessary for  integration into global markets.

Geopolitical security crises, supply chain disruptions, rising food  and fuel prices, and climate change: all these factors significantly  cloud the prospects for development in our group of countries.

Colleagues,

Today, the challenges confronting the world, including our region,  are dire and cannot be overstated.  Armenia faces major humanitarian  and security problems. The constant threat of force is inimical to  the health of any society. It is absolutely clear to us that only  through peace can we achieve stability and progress. To this end,  Armenia actively seeks to establish a stable and lasting peace in the  region.

As the cornerstone of the peace agenda, the Crossroads of Peace  project was presented by the Armenian government to create new and  improve existing infrastructure in the South Caucasus to boost  economic, political, and cultural ties. This project was designed not  to compete with other regional logistics projects but to complement  them. The plan centers on the creation of new links among all  countries in the region, based on a vision of inclusive access. Its  principles are that all infrastructure - roads, railways, pipelines,  cables and power lines - will operate under the sovereign  jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass; each country,  through its state institutions, will safeguard the infrastructure and  ensure border and customs control of the vehicles, cargo, and people  that pass through its territory; all infrastructure will be used for  international and domestic transportation; countries will use the  infrastructure on the basis of reciprocity and equality, and, in  accordance with these principles, border and customs controls will be  facilitated through collective agreement.

From the Persian or Arabian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, from the  Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea - as missing sections of railways  and roads are restored and unblocked, a seamless connection will  emerge.

The Republic of Armenia reaffirms its commitment to contribute to  regional peace and stability and hopes that the negotiations underway  with Turkiye on opening the border will bear fruit. We seek to become  a constructive participant in Mediterranean cooperative frameworks  and are ready to work with all partners to effectually respond to the  needs and priorities of our countries for the common good.