Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, who was invited to the ministerial session of the Arab League Council, met with Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on March 9 in Cairo.

The interlocutors expressed satisfaction with the high-level political dialogue between the Armenian and Egyptian peoples based on centuries-old friendship. There is a belief on both sides that the historic visit of the Egyptian president to Armenia in January will be a new impetus for the expansion of bilateral cooperation.

Ararat Mirzoyan and Sameh Shoukry exchanged ideas on the prospects of cooperation between the two countries in trade and economy, information technologies, tourism, and other fields. In this regard, I highlighted the holding of the following 6th session of the Armenian-Egyptian intergovernmental commission and the need to activate business ties.

International and regional security and stability issues were discussed at the meeting.

Minister Mirzoyan presented to his colleague the latest developments in settlement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the efforts of the Armenian side to establish peace and stability in the region, and the escalation of tension by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh in recent days. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia emphasized that Azerbaijan continues to block the Lachin Corridor, grossly violating the obligations assumed by the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020.

Referring to Armenia's traditional friendly relations with the countries of the Arab world, Minister Mirzoyan considered the speculations of the religious factor and unfounded attempts by Azerbaijan to be unacceptable, which aim to give a religious tone exclusively to political and humanitarian issues and to mislead the international community.

Both sides emphasized the importance of maintaining the international community's attention toward the region and the constructive involvement of interested actors. Minister Mirzoyan also presented to his Egyptian counterpart the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey.