Yerevan /Mediamax/. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting today on Armenian-Russian cooperation agenda.

“Ambassador of Armenia to Russia Vardan Toghanyan reported about the Embassy’s efforts in enriching Armenia-Russia cooperation with new programs, and current issues and challenges in advancing the bilateral agenda,” informed the Armenian presidential press service.

Serzh Sargsyan said that Armenia and Russia managed to build firm allied relations in the last 25 years.

“The Russian Federation is the largest investor in Armenia; Russian investments make 47% of the total number of investments in Armenia, and Russian capital is involved in all sectors of our economy.

Another field of cooperation emerged recently – tourism, and it is our duty to work on developing it. These five months our country registered a 25% increase in the number of Russian tourists visiting the republic, as compared to the past year. I am certain the index will rise annually. Tourism is not just a business, but a substantial tool of strengthening relations between the two peoples,” the President said.

Ambassador Vardan Toghanyan reported that bilateral cooperation continued to develop between Armenia and Russia in 2016 and the first half of 2017.

“Nevertheless, there are issues, particularly in trade turnover, which require discussion and revision by the two countries’ inter-governmental and inter-parliamentary committees on economic cooperation,” Vardan Toghanyan said.

He made a special note about certain financial and customs restrictions, still existing in goods and services export from Armenia to Russia, as well as probelms of Armenian citizens’ labor migration to Russia, insufficient presence of Armenian products in Russian regions, and a number of other issues, subject for regulation and solution.