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At the invitation of the Vice President, President of the Senate of Uruguay Danilo Astori on November 21 the official visit of the RA NA President Hovik Abrahamyan to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay began.

In the General Assembly the RA NA President Hovik Abrahamyan met with the President of the Senate of Uruguay Danilo Astori. Welcoming the NA President and the members of the delegation and highly assessing the visit of the Head of the Armenian Parliament, Mr Astori expressed confidence that it would give new impetus to the Armenian-Uruguayan friendly relations, the enlargement of the inter-parliamentary relations and would promote the more deepening of multilateral cooperation. “Uruguay is always next to Armenia, and the friendly Armenian people are in our hearts and souls,” the President of the Senate of Uruguay said. He highly assessed the role of the Armenian community in the strengthening of the Armenian-Uruguayan relations. Touching upon the problem of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Danilo Astori said: “I am sure that we cannot build future, if we do not remember the past.”

Thanking the President of the Senate of Uruguay for the invitation and warm reception Hovik Abrahamyan expressed conviction that since the independence of Armenia the NA President’s first official visit to Uruguay would be of big importance for strengthening the bilateral relations and developing the cooperation in different spheres. He deemed important the further deepening of inter-parliamentary relations and the reinforcement of the cooperation of the Friendship Groups. Hovik Abrahamyan considered necessary the establishment of the active cooperation in trade-economic, tourist, pharmaceutical and other spheres. “It is an undeniable fact that warm friendly relations are formed between our two countries, however, we should not be limited what we have, we should bring together all our efforts for finding new spheres of cooperation,” the NA President said. “Uruguay was the first state that in 1965 recognized the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. We all realize that ignoring such crimes promotes their repetition, as the indifference can become a reason for bitter consequences,” Hovik Abrahamyan noted. Referring to the NK problem the NA President has stressed that Armenia sees the settlement of the issue only within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, as a result of peaceful negotiations, which will greatly promote the strengthening of stability and security in the South Caucasus, depriving the region from the disastrous consequences of military actions. Responding to the NA President’s word, the Vice President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay has noted that, taking as a basis the UN principles, Uruguay is for the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem, based on the peoples’ freedom and the nations’ self-determination, as well as the principles territorial integrity. “We should respect the freedom, culture, traditions of the people living on that land,” Danilo Astori added.

In the course of the meeting the sides also discussed other issues of bilateral interest. Hovik Abrahamyan invited Danilo Astori to Armenia on an official visit: the invitation was gladly accepted. The NA President left a note in the Book of Honourable Guests.

The delegation led by the NA President took a tour in the building of the General Assembly of Uruguay.

On the same day Hovik Abrahamyan and the members of the delegation led by him visited the Armenia Square in the centre of Montevideo and laid a wreath and flowers at the monument perpetuating the memory of the victims of the Genocide. Hovik Abrahamyan had a warm and sincere talk with the representatives of the Armenian community.