“I hope that, together with our Russian partners, we will be able to discuss our relations comprehensively and, if we can use that term, ‘heal’ [improve] them. Also, returning to the issue of goods, I hope those restrictions will be lifted soon.” Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ararat Mirzoyan said this at a joint meeting of the National Assembly’s standing committees, speaking about exports of goods from Armenia to other countries, including the EU and the Gulf states.
According to the minister, he was deliberately giving examples in no particular order: for instance, Armenian peaches can be found in Oman and Armenian strawberries in Qatar. Returning to the EU, he noted that Armenian peppers, for example, can be found in Romania, and so on.
“What I mean is that these initial steps are quite encouraging and provide grounds for optimism,” the minister noted.
Mirzoyan also said they had learned yesterday that, in addition to the EU, the United Kingdom had also decided to grant Armenia autonomous trade measures, meaning that Armenia could export to the UK on the same basis as it exports to EU countries.
“There are interesting and promising results in some very interesting markets. I want to make it clear from the outset that, in most cases, of course, we are not talking about large volumes or quantities, and this is quite understandable and explicable: new markets are being explored, including by overcoming logistical challenges. They started with small shipments, and now volumes are increasing significantly,” the minister said, noting that when people speak of export markets, many primarily mean Russia and the EU, but the world is not limited to them.
“There are other countries, other markets, other continents, and I am always pleased to highlight our exports to the Gulf states, where we have very successful examples,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade emphasized.
