British Ambassador’s farewell visit to the RA Parliament.

On December 19 the RA NA Speaker Samvel Nikoyan received Charles Lonsdale, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the occasion of the end of his diplomatic mission.

Welcoming the Ambassador the RA NA Speaker stated with satisfaction that during his tenure cooperation between Armenia and the United Kingdom experienced a rise. In Samvel Nikoyan’s words, there is a great, not yet used potential for expanding the lines of interaction and activation of contacts in various formats in the future. The NA Speaker emphasized the development of interaction in both the bilateral and multilateral formats. Samvel Nikoyan expressed willingness to put his efforts aimed at further deepening of the Armenian-British cooperation.

The Ambassador Lonsdale congratulated Samvel Nikoyan on the occasion of being elected Speaker of the RA National Assembly and wished him success for his presidency. In his words, this period is important in terms of being 6 months left for the elections. In this context in Armenia the conduct of free elections, which comply with international standards, were mutually emphasized. Mr. Nikoyan stressed that the Armenian authorities would do their best to fulfill fair and transparent elections.

The further development, regional issues and the draft law “On ensuring men’s and women’s equal rights and equal opportunities” were touched upon; other issues of bilateral interest were also discussed at the meeting.

In the end Samvel Nikoyan wished the Ambassador success in his further activity, expressing confidence that he would remain a friend of Armenia . The NA Speaker has expressed hope that the shaped tradition of cooperation will continue with newly appointed joint ambassadors: with the married couple, who in the rotation principle will take their office from January.