YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The delegation headed by the speaker of the RA National Assembly Hovik Abrahamian was received by the chairman of the Standing Committee of All-Chinese Assembly U Bango on December 15. The Armenian ambassador to China Armen Sargsyan was present at the meeting. According to the RA National Assembly PR Department, U. Bango stated that this visit will become a new stimulus for developing the relations between the two countries. H. Arahamian said that the speaker of the Chinese parliament was expected to pay a visit to Yerevan in May, but the destructive earthquake prevented Mr. U Bango from leaving China. Conveying the Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan's regards and wishes of success to the Chinese president Hu Jintao, Hovik Abrahamian asked to pass to him the invitation to come on an official visit to Armenia. He underlined that the traditional friendly links of the Armenian and Chinese peoples are continuing nowadays, which is evident from the political dialog and mutual visits at the high level, the consistent expansion and deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation in the social-political, economic, scientific and cultural spheres. The cooperation and mutual assistance at the international level have deepened the trust of the sides. The speaker of the RA National Assembly attached special importance to the joint projects being implemented in such spheres as chemistry, energy, agriculture, science and technology, defence, and culture. Speaking about interparliamentary relations, H. Abrahamian said that deputy friendship groups function at two parliaments, expressing his support for promotion of their activities. He pointed out that Armenia attaches great importance to consistent development of friendship and cooperation with China, and considerable potential exists in this respect, taking the opportunities of two countries into consideration. He underlined the importance of identifying new possibilities of cooperation under conditions of the global financial crisis, which will help reduce the impact of the crisis. H. Abrahamian invited U. Bango to pay an official visit to Armenia. The chairman of the Standing Committee of the All-Chinese Assembly U. Bango said that he will pass the invitation of the Armenian president to Hu Jintao. Mr. Bango also restated his intention to visit Armenia which was delayed by the earthquake. He noted the significance of the Declaration on Cooperation signed by the presidents of two countries in 2004, after which the bilateral relations began developing rapidly. It was mentioned that the bilateral cooperation has given good results in the economic sphere as well: in particular, the trade growth made 51% last year. U. Bango expressed a high opinion about cooperation in energy and mining industry. The Chinese government allocated gratis 15 million yuans to Armenia with the aim of encouraging economic cooperation. Noting that Armenia is a reliable partner for China, U. Bango spoke about the necessity to establish closer interparliamentary links. He expressed satisfaction at the fact that during his visit, the speaker of the RA National Assembly will also go to Hainan Province famous for its dynamically developing industry: chemical industry, mechanical engineering, petroleum industry, tourism, adding that programs on foundation of joint ventures may be worked out as a result of this visit. During the meeting H. Abrahamian and U. Bangi signed a memorandum of mutual understanding, cooperation and exchange of experience, restating the willingness to develop friendly relations and cooperation. Noting that interparliamentary links are an essential component of interstate relations, the memorandum emphasizes the importance of making contacts of the parliaments more active both in the bilateral and multilateral formats in order to strengthen mutual understanding and trust and increase the scope of common opinions. The memorandum asserts a willingness to deepen the coordination of consultations and positions on bilateral and international relations. The memorandum stresses the importance of encouraging contacts of the parliamentary committees, exchanging legislative experience in trade, economic, agricultural, energy, educational, cultural and environmental spheres, and establishing closer links between the friendship groups. The memorandum pays great attention to cooperation of the two parliaments in terms of international relations by organizing frequent meetings of delegations and consultations at international organizations. In the words of the speakers of the parliaments of Armenia and China, this memorandum is the first document between the two parliaments and opens a new page of cooperation in interparliamentary relations.

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