Sanjay Verma, a secretary at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, arrived in Armenia to co-chair with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan a session of an Indian-Armenian intergovernmental commission tasked with facilitating closer ties between the two countries sharing common geopolitical interests.
“On the defense side, we have begun looking at concrete cooperation,” Verma said at the start of the meeting. “We are looking at a long-term relationship in that area.”
In his opening remarks, Mirzoyan likewise listed “defense and military-technical cooperation” among the areas that are “very promising for our countries.”
“The ongoing discussions in these directions will turn into practical agreements and into new opportunities for our governments and businesspeople,” he said.
It was not clear whether the commission discussed any defense-related issues and reached understandings on them.
Mirzoyan and Verma met separately before the session. According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Mirzoyan again praised the Indian government’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and “reaffirmed Armenia’s support for India” in its long-running dispute with Pakistan.
Pakistan staunchly supports Azerbaijan, refusing to not only establish diplomatic relations with Armenia but also formally recognize it. Islamabad underscored that support during the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Karabakh. But it denied claims that Pakistani soldiers participated in the six-week war on the Azerbaijani side.
By contrast, India has backed international efforts to settle the Karabakh conflict spearheaded by the United States, Russia and France. It has also effectively sided with Armenia in an Armenian-Azerbaijani border dispute that broke out in May 2021. In a statement issued at the time, the Indian foreign ministry called on Baku to “pull back forces immediately and cease any further provocation.”
Armenia - India's Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar speaks at a joint news conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, Yerevan, October 13, 2021.
Mirzoyan held talks Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in April this year on the sidelines of an international conference held in India. It was their third face-to-face meeting in eight months.
Jaishankar visited Armenia last October. He and Mirzoyan approved a “roadmap for future cooperation and mutual visits at different levels.” The top Indian diplomat singled out closer economic ties between the two nations.
According to Armenian government data, Indian-Armenian trade soared by over 40 percent but still stood at a modest $181 million last year.
“These figures do not reflect the full potential of our bilateral trade and economic cooperation, and we expect a drastic increase in trade turnover volumes in the coming years,” Mirzoyan said on Monday.
Verma said, for his part, that New Delhi is encouraging Indian entrepreneurs to “look at investing in Armenia because the possibilities and potentials are immense.”