Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian attended a meeting with his counterparts of member states of the Eastern Partnership and the Visegrad Group in Prague on Monday, News Armenia reports.
Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Stefan Fule, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, participated in the meeting as well.
Nalbandian noted progress in bilateral cooperation of Armenia and the European Union, emphasizing approval of 24 association agreements and simplification of the visa regime. He said that negotiation on a free trade zone will start in the nearest future.
The foreign minister discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh process, preparations for parliamentary polls of May 6 and reforms with Stefan Fule
The Eastern Partnership is an EU project for rapprochement with former USSR states Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Belarus, initiated by Polish foreign minister with Swiss assistance on May 26, 2008. The partnership was founded in Prague on May 7, 2009, when the Czech Republic was chairing the EU.
The Visegrad Group was founded by Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary on February 15, 1991, during a meeting of presidents and prime ministers Lech Walesa (Poland), Vaclav Havel (Czechoslovakia) and Joszef Antall (hungary).
