The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Tom Berendsen, will visit a flower greenhouse as part of his current visit to Armenia. This became known during the meeting of the Armenian and Dutch foreign ministers on Tuesday in Yerevan.
Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ararat Mirzoyan lauded the bilateral cooperation between Armenia and the Netherlands, noting that their high-level political dialogue is active and effective. According to him, their economic ties are also expanding step by step, the numbers are growing, but there is still a great untapped potential. Mirzoyan pointed to agriculture, floriculture, healthcare, and infrastructure as sectors of joint work. It is within this framework that the Dutch foreign minister will visit a greenhouse in Armenia today, where flowers are grown using Dutch technology.
Also, the Armenian foreign minister noted several successful initiatives in Armenia, such as the dried fruit and nut production program, assistance to displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, etc. He did not forget to mention the assistance by the Netherlands in the implementation of democratic reforms in Armenia. According to Mirzoyan, the main topics of today's discussions were Armenia-EU relations, developments in the South Caucasus, the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process, and Armenia’s dialogue with Turkey.
Tom Berendsen, in turn, emphasized that the Netherlands greatly values the close partnership with a history of decades, which has been further strengthened in recent years, especially with the declaration of strategic cooperation signed last year. He touched upon the difficulties faced by Armenia’s producers due to the restrictions imposed by Russia and welcomed the new EU mechanism to assist Armenia, and expressed hope that the country will be able to use it effectively.
The Netherlands is ready for active partnership with Armenia. For this very purpose, its foreign minister will go to a greenhouse in Armenia today to find out on the spot what problems Armenia’s producers are facing. In general, the Netherlands expects not only flowers from Armenia; they will strive to expand the range of Armenian products in Europe, and the Netherlands’ Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) will continue to work in Armenia at least until 2028.
In order to continue the dialogue, Berendsen invited Mirzoyan to the Netherlands, in response to which the Armenian foreign minister assured that a return visit will be conducted soon.