Yerevan /Mediamax/. The EU will further explore non-lethal support to the Armenian military via the European Peace Facility.

This is said in a news release of the EU Delegation to Armenia which summed up the results of the visit of a delegation of the European External Action Service and the European Commission to Armenia from November 27-29.

“They exchanged on how to best leverage investments to address the immediate needs and enable integration of displaced Karabakh Armenians, as well as to strengthen Armenia’s economic and social resilience in the longer term.

Both the EU and Armenian side expressed an interest to continue the cooperation on justice and police reform; to strengthen collaboration on migration and mobility; and to explore options to possibly launch a visa liberalization dialogue with Armenia. It was also agreed to explore areas to strengthen cooperation between the EU’s Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and Armenia.

The meetings further confirmed the mutual interest of Armenia and the EU to further the dialogue and cooperation in the areas of security and defense. The EU will for instance further explore non-lethal support to the Armenian military via the European Peace Facility.

At the occasion of the visit, the EU and Armenia also inaugurated the EU-Armenia Investment Coordination Platform. This platform brings together the EU, the government of Armenia and International Financial Institutions, and it will help further step up EU investments in Armenia under the Economic and Investment Plan, which has already mobilised close to EUR 500 million in Armenia. Two new projects were signed during this first ever meeting of the Platform, aimed at improving energy efficiency in kindergartens in cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and providing support to Armenian SMEs in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The EU reiterated its continued support to the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on the principles of mutual recognition of territorial integrity and inviolability of borders based on the 1991 Almaty Declaration. Following the discussions of the Foreign Affairs Council on 13 November, the EU will also reinforce the EU Mission in Armenia,” the news release reads.