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  • Tallinn: Estonian president meets with Armenian counterpart

    Baltic News Service
    November 15, 2004

    ESTONIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH ARMENIAN COUNTERPART

    TALLINN, Nov 15

    Estonian President Arnold Ruutel who is on an official visit to
    Armenia met on Monday with his opposite number, Robert Kocharyan.

    The meeting between the heads of state and official delegations took
    place after a formal reception ceremony in front of the presidential
    palace in Yerevan, the press service of the Estonian president's
    office reports.

    Under discussion were potential areas of bilateral cooperation, among
    them sharing the Estonian experience of reforms and European
    integration, and economic, cultural and educational experience,
    including on the level of local government.

    The rector of Tartu University, Jaak Aaviksoo, spoke about contacts
    in the field of higher education which go back for more than two
    centuries. The best-known example of this is that the founder of
    modern Armenian literature, Khachatur Abovyan, was a student at Tartu
    in 1830-1836.

    State Secretary Heiki Loot spoke about the Estonian government's
    experience of using an electronic information system at its sessions.

    Ruutel met also with the chairman of the Armenian National Assembly
    Artur Bagdasaryan and other members of parliament. The Armenian
    lawmakers showed great interest in tapping into Estonia's experience
    through parliamentary contacts.

    The Estonian head of state laid a wreath at the genocide monument.

    In the afternoon the presidents opened an Estonian-Armenian business
    seminar. Ruutel observed in his opening remarks that bilateral trade
    is so far limited to contats between single enterprises.

    "But the business delegation accompanying us has come here with a
    clear interest in cooperation and finding a niche for instance in the
    areas of industrial electronics, telecommunications and information
    systems," the president added.

    On Sunday Ruutel and his wife, Ingrid, visited the 1st-century Garni
    temple, 13th-century Geghard monastery and Lake Sevan. In the evening
    the Estonian president visited also the museum of the renowned film
    maker Sergei Paradzhanov.

    Estonian Culture Minister Urmas Paet and Armenia's Minister of
    Culture and Youth Affairs Khovik Khoveyan signed at the museum an
    agreement on bilateral cultural cooperation.

    Ruutel's official visit to Armenia will continue on Tuesday. The
    president is scheduled to return to Estonia Tuesday evening.
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