Grigoryan at NATO Seminar: Peace is Key for Armenia

The Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, has presented the text of his speech delivered at the "108th Rose-Roth Seminar" on September 22:

"Honorable Mr. Chairman,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Honorable Parliamentarians,

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

It is a great honor to speak at the '108th Rose-Roth Seminar.' Allow me to begin my speech by expressing Armenia's gratitude to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and all participants who continue to promote dialogue and cooperation at global and regional levels. Dialogue is one of the best tools for resolving conflicts, as well as for preventing them.

It is symbolic that the Rose-Roth seminar is taking place after the summit held in Washington on August 8, which resulted in the establishment of peace in the South Caucasus. A peace that the peoples of the region have long awaited. Now, we will work towards institutionalizing peace to guarantee its permanence.

The unblocking of the region's economic infrastructure is of great importance in the institutionalization of peace. For this purpose, Armenia once presented the 'Crossroads of Peace' project, which received a positive response from Armenia's partners. At the same time, based on the trilateral statement signed in Washington, the 'Trump's Path for International Peace and Prosperity' communication program will be created, which is part of the 'Crossroads of Peace' project. The implementation of such programs will inevitably contribute to the formation of regional interdependence, which, in turn, will have a positive impact on maintaining peace.

The achieved peace is a significant example of bilateral and multilateral dialogues, the promotion of which is actively pursued by this platform.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In general, we have a deep conviction that peace provides the best conditions for strengthening Armenia's security, establishing democratic institutions, and the continuous development of sovereignty and independence. It was this conviction and the mandate for a peace agenda received from the people in 2021 that contributed to the formation of today's environment. In the created conditions, Armenia will not only strengthen its statehood attributes but also expand cooperation with its partners.

Armenia highly appreciates the partnership with NATO in various formats. Armenia and NATO cooperate on the rule of law, the transparency of multi-sectoral reforms, counter-terrorism, and the fight against corruption, as well as on the development and implementation of defense reform programs. At the same time, with the support of NATO's Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP), Armenia is implementing large-scale reforms in the field of military education. It should be noted that Armenia has increased its involvement in the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR), which emphasizes Armenia's readiness to deepen its partnership with NATO. We want to finalize the 'Individually Tailored Partnership Programme' (ITPP) with NATO as soon as possible and move to its implementation to give new impetus to the relations between Armenia and NATO.

I would also like to emphasize one of the strategic approaches to ensuring Armenia's security. Back in 2023, the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia approved the 'Comprehensive Security' vision. Armenia views resilience as a whole-of-government and whole-of-society capability to face the risks arising from the environment around Armenia. Guided also by the well-known benchmarks on Comprehensive Security, Armenia, with its 'Comprehensive Security' vision, aims to strengthen civil preparedness and ensure engagement to strengthen Armenia's security.

The development of democratic institutions in Armenia served as a basis for the formation of the 'Comprehensive Security' vision. It is interesting that the idea of Comprehensive Security was first actively discussed at the public level by the professional community. As a result, the Government responded to the public demand and adopted the 'Comprehensive Security' vision. By the way, we view democracy as an important tool for ensuring Armenia's security, and corruption as a threat to our national security.

Currently, we are working on the formation and implementation of the action plan of the 'Comprehensive Security' vision, starting consultations with the EU to support the implementation of Comprehensive Security. Within the framework of the above, I would like to express special thanks to the EU for such readiness.

Dear Colleagues,

Once again, thank you for the opportunity to speak at this seminar. Let us continue our work together for peace and security, both in our region and beyond its borders."