Nikol Pashinyan received Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.

In his welcoming speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated: "Dear Minister, dear friends, I welcome you to our country. Let me first express my satisfaction with the opening of the Canadian Embassy in our country, which is a truly significant event for our bilateral relations. In particular, we will now have a resident ambassador, which means we will have an ongoing dialogue. This is very important, especially in the current circumstances.

It is essential to emphasize that this results from a series of negotiations and visits. I remember that the conversation about this started in 2018, when Prime Minister Trudeau visited Armenia, during which we had a conversation, after which special representative Dion saw us, after which the report on supporting democracy in Armenia was released.

Of course, we greatly appreciate your contribution and efforts. Welcome to Armenia".

In turn, Melanie Joly thanked the Prime Minister for the warm reception. She noted: "I am sure that Mr. Prime Minister from Ottawa is celebrating the opening of the embassy together with us in his mind and heart. We are glad that we have the first ambassador in Armenia who knows Armenia well because he has worked for Armenia for a long time in the Department of Foreign Relations. And he is also a close friend of your excellent ambassador to our country, who is also with us now.

We have come to you in a period that we know is quite difficult for Armenia. We followed the events of September 19-20, and of course, our goal is to help Armenia in this challenging situation, as well as to help make the region more peaceful and stable. We do this primarily by being involved in the EU mission; we are the only non-EU country participating in the EU mission. This is the first step in ensuring a more significant presence in Armenia.

Today, we announced new funding for EU humanitarian aid to address the problems caused by the forced removal of such a large number of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. We support the efforts of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross." The Canadian Foreign Minister added that she will visit the south of Armenia tomorrow to meet the local authorities and the people forcibly deported from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nikol Pashinyan referred to the forced deportation of more than 100,000 of our compatriots from Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing policy and the created humanitarian situation; in that context, he emphasized the importance of international support in solving the existing problems.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the regulation of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, the possibilities of unblocking regional transport infrastructures based on the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, jurisdiction, and reciprocity, as well as peace and stability in the region.

Thoughts were exchanged on agenda issues of Armenia-Canada cooperation.