By Ruzanna Stepanian
Romania’s President Traian Basescu was in Armenia Wednesday on a two-day official visit aimed at strengthening ties between the two post-Communist states. Basescu went straight into talks with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian on his arrival in Yerevan. The two men presided over the signing of several bilateral agreements, including a memorandum of understanding on “European and Euro-Atlantic cooperation.”
Kocharian said Romania’s upcoming entry to the European Union and Armenia’s participation in the EU’s European Neighborhood Policy program will give a new impetus to Romanian-Armenian ties. “I think these two process open new opportunities for cooperation between our countries,” he told a joint news conference with Basescu.
Basescu, who is the third Romanian head of state to visit Yerevan during Kocharian’s presidency, said his country will seek to facilitate Armenia’s European integration after securing EU membership next January. He also said Romanian companies are taking interest in investing in Armenia.
Kocharian complained in that regard about the modest volume of bilateral trade, criticizing the work of a Romanian-Armenian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. He said the commission should do more to boost commercial links between the two nations.