On October 8th Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of  Armenia had a meeting in Brussels with Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs.

<p>Greeting the Foreign Minister of Armenia, the EU High  Representative noted that this meeting is a good opportunity  for exchanging thoughts about the joint steps to be  undertaken for the further development of relations between  Armenia and the EU.

Minister Nalbandian underlined that Armenia wishes to move  forward the partnership with the EU in all possible directions relying on those achievements and progress which  were jointly made in recent years in Armenia-EU relationships.Edward Nalbandian emphasized that in building relations with  the EU, including within the framework of Eastern&nbsp;Partnership, Armenia aspires to have close, deep and  extensive partnership simultaneously taking into account the&nbsp;participation in other integration processes deriving from  Armenia&rsquo;s interests.

;Armenia has passed an important way of reforms with the  support of the EU. We are determined to continue the reform&nbsp;process aimed at the strengthening of democracy, human  rights and rule of law, good governance, improvement of&nbsp;judicial system, fight against corruption. In this process  we look forward to EU&rsquo;s continuous support,rdquo; emphasized&nbsp;Minister Nalbandian.

The Armenian Foreign Minister noted the importance of  EU-Armenia cooperation in mobility underlining that it has&nbsp;already been two years since the signing of the Declaration  on &ldquo;Mobility Partnership&rdquo; with the EU, and last December&nbsp;the visa facilitation agreement was signed.

<p>In the words of Edward Nalbandian there is a serious  potential in the area of sectoral cooperation which includes&nbsp;dozens of dimensions. The Armenian Foreign Minister noted  that according to the Framework Agreement, signed between Armenia and the EU, Armenia got an opportunity to participate in various EU programs.Catherine Ashton noted that the EU wishes to continue the  development of comprehensive cooperation with Armenia in all  areas which could be compatible with the decision  of Armenia to join the Customs Union. The preparatory works of Eastern Partnership&rsquo;s Vilnius Summit were touched upon during the meeting.

In the context of the Armenian Presidency in the Council of  Europe Edward Nalbandian and Catherine Ashton touched upon  the cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Union.

  -   Politics