India, Armenia’s relationship developing fast: Dy Foreign Minister Safaryan

New Delhi [India], March 4 (ANI): Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan, on Saturday, said that India and Armenia’s relationships are developing fast and both nations could achieve more in terms of trade, economy, investment, culture and tourism.

While talking to ANI, Safaryan said, “Since last year, we’ve been trying to take our relations to the next level. For the past 30 years relations between India and Armenia developing very fast. We could achieve more in terms of trade, economy, investment, culture & tourism.” Safaryan, who attended the Raisina Dialogue, is one of the keynote speakers at the Panel Discussion on “Peace In Pieces: New Pathways For a UN That Works.”

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has recently (in May 2022) made headlines in the wake of the ongoing Ukraine war. The region has been a recurrent bone of contention between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The region, located in the south Caucasus region, is a forested region which geographically has been a part of Azerbaijan, however, it is dominated by the Armenians.

Armenia already controls more than 20 per cent of Azerbaijan’s territory, and as a result, the country’s administration is dealing with tense situations both domestically and regionally. Armenia and India celebrated 30 years of bilateral diplomatic relations in 2022. Armenia and India maintain active political ties. Effective cooperation exists between the two nations within international bodies.
After Armenia’s independence in 1991, Armenian-Indian relations were reestablished.

Diplomatic relations were established between the Republic of Armenia and India in 1992. In 1999, the Indian Embassy in Yerevan began operations. If the Armenian-Indian political relations can be evaluated as “excellent”, Armenia is the only Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) country with which India had diplomatic relations in 1995 (other than Russia). The CIS was founded in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

At present the CIS unites Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. India and Armenia signed a Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation in 1995. But the trade and economic cooperation between the two countries cannot be deemed adequate.
Armenia can play an important role in the Indian-backed International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Iranian-backed Black Sea-Persian Gulf Transport Corridor.