Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his Armenian counterpart, Karen Karapetyan, vowed Monday to strengthen bilateral ties and encourage investment in both countries’ private sectors.
Hariri and Karapetyan held a joint news conference after meeting at the Grand Serail.
“We agreed on strengthening ties and cooperation in the banking sector to fund public, private and touristic projects,” Hariri said during the news conference.
Karapetyan noted that an agreement had been reached with Hariri to initiate a joint Lebanese-Armenian fund to support bilateral initiatives. “We also discussed developing solar energy and renewable energy systems,” he said.
Following this sit-down, Karapetyan met with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh, discussing “cooperation” between the two countries’ parliaments, according to a statement released by Berri’s press office.
The Armenian prime minister later met with President Michel Aoun in Baabda Palace, according to an official statement.
Hariri said Monday that the Armenian prime minister would also hold several meetings with private sector figures to encourage investment by Lebanese nationals in Armenia and vice versa.
Earlier Monday, Karapetyan was greeted at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport by Minister of State for Women’s Affairs Jean Ogasapian and the Armenian Ambassador to Lebanon Samvel Mkrtchian, an airport source said.
Source: NNA
