AmreniaIndia copy — Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, left, with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan

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India, Armenia Forge Closer Ties with Foreign Minister Visit

October 19, 2021

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The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

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YEREVAN (Combined Sources) — The foreign ministers of Armenia and India pledged to deepen relations between the two countries sharing common geopolitical interests after holding talks on October 13 for the second time in a month.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said he and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar reached “concrete agreements” to that effect during the talks held in Yerevan. He also reaffirmed Armenia’s support for India in its long-running dispute with Pakistan and praised New Delhi’s “principled” position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

India supports the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaishankar said in Yerevan.

“Our position is very consistent. Since the clashes began we have been supporting the peaceful settlement through diplomatic means. We have expressed our support to the peaceful settlement of the conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group. India always supports peace and stability in this region,” he said.

He added that last year Armenia passed a very difficult stage and expressed deep condolences to the Armenian people on behalf of the Indian government and people.

Pakistan staunchly supports Azerbaijan in that conflict, refusing to not only establish diplomatic relations with Armenia but also formally recognize it. Islamabad underscored that support during last year’s Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Karabakh. But it denied claims that Pakistani soldiers participated in the six-week war on the Azerbaijani side.

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Pakistani troops regularly take part in joint military exercises held by Azerbaijan and Turkey.

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 this year. In a statement issued at the time, the Indian Foreign Ministry called on Baku to “pull back forces immediately and cease any further provocation.”

Mirzoyan recalled and hailed that statement during his joint news conference with Jaishankar. “For our part, we reaffirm our position in terms of supporting India on the Jammu and Kashmir issue,” he said.

Mirzoyan stressed that forging closer ties with India is one of Armenia’s foreign policy priorities. “We need to take joint steps to elevate our relations in the political, economic, military and cultural fields to a new level,” he said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan echoed that statement when he met with Jaishankar later in the day.

“We not only express readiness but also have concrete ideas and proposals regarding what we should cooperate [with India] on,” he said.

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Topics: India, Indian-Armenian relations

People: Ararat Mirzoyan, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar

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Jaishankar, who is the first Indian foreign minister to ever visit Armenia, told reporters that he and Mirzoyan approved a “roadmap for future cooperation and mutual visits at different levels.” He singled out closer economic ties between the two nations whose bilateral trade was worth only $128 million last year.

In that regard, both ministers, who previously met in Tajikistan on September 16, stressed the importance of establishing an Armenian-Indian transport link passing through Iran and its Chabahar cargo port in particular.

India has built and operates two terminals at the Gulf of Oman port to bypass Pakistan in cargo traffic with Iran, Afghanistan and central Asian countries.

New Delhi has also proposed Chabahar’s inclusion in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project initiated by Russia, Iran and India in 2000. The project envisages a 7,200-kilometer-long network of maritime and terrestrial routes stretching from Mumbai to Moscow.

“We support using the Chabahar port and other initiatives that would expand links between our two countries,” said Jaishankar.

Mirzoyan said the Iranian port could be used for cargo shipments to not only Armenia but also neighboring Georgia and further north, to Russia and even Europe. He said Armenia and Iran are planning to sign an agreement on such freight transport.

In addition, Mirzoyan congratulated India for its chairmanship at the UN Security Council.

Mirzoyan reiterated Armenia’s support for India in the issue of becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

(Armenpress and RFE/RL contributed to this report.)

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