The United States and Armenia signed a memorandum of understanding concerning civil nuclear cooperation to enable strategic cooperation between the two nations.
The agreement builds on the gains made through the U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue by improving cooperation on energy security and strengthening the diplomatic and economic relationship between Armenia and the U.S., according to a May 2 Department of State news release.
“These are challenging times in many, many ways, and they’re challenging for Armenia, but know that you have a strong and true friend and partner in the United States,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said, according to a State Department transcript of their remarks.
The memorandum allows for collaboration between experts from government, industry, national laboratories and academic institutions, according to the news release.
A major purpose of the ceremony was to restart diplomatic conversations between the U.S. and Armenia after they were temporarily suspended due to COVID-19, Blinken said. He said this event was a landmark in working towards the countries’ mutual goals of lasting peace.
"This is a very important vehicle by which we can continue to deepen and strengthen our relationship to pursue new areas of cooperation and collaboration, and we’re very pleased to be able to do that now," Blinken said in his remarks.
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said this ceremony marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations in his remarks. He thanked the U.S. for its assistance in facilitating a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the support of the Armenian-Turkish normalization process and recognizing and condemning the Armenian genocide.
