YEREVAN — Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and his wife Anna Hakobyan hosted German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender, who are in Armenia on an official visit, at the Government headquarters.
During the visit, Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Steinmeier held an expanded meeting with their respective delegations, while Anna Hakobyan and Elke Büdenbender had a separate one-on-one conversation.
Welcoming President Steinmeier, Prime Minister Pashinyan noted the historic nature of the visit, as it marks the first official visit by a President of Germany to Armenia. He emphasized the active and growing cooperation between the two countries. In this context, Pashinyan highlighted Germany’s support for Armenia’s democratic reform agenda and expressed gratitude for President Steinmeier’s personal efforts in this regard.
President Steinmeier thanked the Armenian side for the warm hospitality and emphasized Germany’s commitment to deepening its multifaceted cooperation with Armenia. He identified promising areas of collaboration, including economy, investment, infrastructure development, energy, tourism, education, and culture. The German President also reaffirmed his country’s support for strengthening Armenia–EU relations and for the effective implementation of Armenia’s reform agenda.
Both leaders underlined the importance of realizing the significant potential for deepening bilateral ties and noted that enhanced people-to-people connections could contribute to this goal. In this vein, Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized the importance of continuing dialogue on visa liberalization with the EU.
The two sides also discussed progress on the draft agreement titled “Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.” Both Pashinyan and Steinmeier stressed the importance of signing the agreement as a step toward ensuring peace and stability in the South Caucasus. President Steinmeier reaffirmed Germany’s support for Armenia’s peace agenda.
Finally, they exchanged views on Armenia’s “Crossroads of Peace” initiative, along with other matters of mutual interest.