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On May 2, the Vice President of the National Assembly of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan received the delegation led by the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Honda Taro.

The Head of the Armenia-Japan Friendship Group Babken Tunyan, the members of the group Tsovinar Vardanyan and Hakob Aslanyan attended the meeting.

This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Japan. Hakob Arshakyan stressed close, friendly relations between the two countries, high-level political dialogue and cooperation based on common values. According to the NA Vice President, Armenia highly appreciates the contribution of Japan to the establishment of peace in the world, the development of democratic institutions, disaster prevention and the implementation of humanitarian initiatives.

Speaking about the strengthening of inter-parliamentary ties, the NA Deputy Speaker expressed conviction that the parliamentary friendship groups will effectively cooperate and will give a new impulse to the bilateral relations. Reference was made to the effective cooperation in international organizations.

In the context of regional issues, Hakob Arshakyan noted that Armenia welcomes the balanced approach of Japan to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its commitment to support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group. He stressed that the Azerbaijani side continues to violate the ceasefire regime and disrupt stability in the region. The Azerbaijani armed forces continue to remain in some parts of the sovereign territory of Armenia. The issue of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees remains unresolved. The NA Vice President spoke about the process of normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations.

The NA Vice President referred to the steps aimed at the improvement of the legal field between the two countries, the activation of economic ties, the strengthening of the cultural dialogue between the Armenian and Japanese people.

The Head of the Friendship Group also expressed readiness to contribute to the strengthening of Armenia-Japan inter-parliamentary relations, to value the expansion of ties in the economic sphere. In the context of closer cultural ties, Babken Tunyan highlighted the celebration of Hanami Day in the National Assembly park, which is another evidence of the friendship and cultural dialogue between the Armenian and Japanese people.

In his turn, the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan stressed that Armenia is an important partner for them both in the context of bilateral and international cooperation. Touching upon the regional issues, Honda Taro noted that during the 44-day war, his country had called on the sides to resolve the issue through negotiations. He attached importance to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

The interlocutors noted with satisfaction the positive dynamics of the development of bilateral relations between Armenia and Japan, touched upon the opportunities to deepen the relations in the sphere of trade and in a number of spheres presenting mutual interests. It was stated that there are wide opportunities for cooperation, especially in the field of economy, high technologies and digitalization.