Serzh Sargsyan demanded Foreign Ministry to work harder  

ArmInfo. Effective implementation of the Armenian foreign policy is of the same vital  importance for Armenia as internal reforms, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is convinced.

"Moreover, the successful implementation of our internal reforms is  closely linked to foreign policy, which is important both in terms of  international assistance to reforms and their proper presentation  abroad, and in studying the positive experience of some countries,  adaptation and implementation. Foreign policy plays a huge role in  establishing the level of security of our country, the protection of  our interests in international relations, long-term development, and,  of course, protection of the rights and interests of our citizens  abroad," Sargsyan said during the meeting with the leadership of the  Armenian Foreign Ministry.

Sargsyan stressed that increasing the effectiveness of Armenian  diplomacy is imperative of the day.  According to him, this is due to  both traditional challenges and threats, as well as lightning-fast  changes both in the world and in the region. Moreover, Sargsyan  believes that changes lead not only to challenges, but in some cases  create new opportunities. "And the task of diplomacy is to predict  and understand their essence in a timely manner, to be able to use  them as effectively as possible in the interests of our country.  It  is obvious that in today's international relations the number of  conflicts and various crises, contradictions between various  organizations in the security sphere, the tendency of religious and  ethnic intolerance increase", he said. He also stressed that Armenia  has never tried to impose its share of responsibility on others in  solving regional and international issues.

Touching upon the Karabakh issue, Sargsyan stressed that the peaceful  settlement of the conflict will continue to be one of Armenia's  foreign policy priorities. "Of course, we will purposefully continue  to support the efforts of the Minsk mediators towards a peaceful  settlement of the conflict. As a result of consistent work in the  peace process, our positions have significantly strengthened over the  past 10 years, and here I want to thank all the participants of the  process, headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We managed to set  the right of the people to self-determination as fundamental in the  solution of the conflict".  He stressed that no matter how pressing  the Karabakh issue is, there should not be an impression that  Armenia's foreign policy revolves around its axis. "The axis of our  foreign policy, of course, should be the interests of Armenia, and  its active participation in international issues will help to better  advance its positions," the head of state said.

He also stressed that it is time to review and modernize the  country's national security strategy. "It is no accident that I am  voicing this idea in the Foreign Ministry," the head of state  explained.

According to him, the key problems of Armenia's national security are  mostly or more directly related to the external environment.  Stressing that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accumulated the  necessary knowledge, experience and, most importantly, the  functionality for making substantive and important recommendations. 

Serzh Sargsyan also drew the attention of the senior staff of the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the main events of the current year -  to the summit of Francophonie, the events dedicated to the 100th  anniversary of the First Republic, to the third Global Forum of  Fighting the Genocides and the upcoming festivities for the 2800th  anniversary of Yerevan. He stressed that the summit of Francophonie  is very important in terms of scope, and Armenia is now on the road  to passing the exam.