In the picture Premier Nikol Pashinyan and Dr. Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner – Picture by Land NRW, Uta Wagner.
Thursday, 31 January 2019, Köln, NRW, Germany: The 16th Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan was received in North Rhine-Westphalia by the Minister of European and International Affairs, Dr. Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner.
Pivotal for the discussions was the democratic reforms carried out in Armenia after the peaceful revolt that led to the premiership of Nikol Pashinyan last year. Minister Dr. Holthoff-Pförtner highlighted the own peaceful revolt in East Germany that had as a consequence the collapse of the Communist system and facilitated German reunification.
Moreover, they explored concrete steps to establish partnerships between NRW higher education institutions and the ones in Armenia as well as ways to entice business people from Germany to the eastern European country. Before the institutional meeting, Premier Pashinyan had in fact been a guest at the Technical University of Cologne, and held an allocution before the student corps.
Prime Minister Pashinyan was accompanied by her spouse Anna Hakobyan, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Ambassador to Germany, Ashot Smbatyan. After the NRW stopover, the latter dignitaries travelled further to Berlin wherein they were welcomed for bilateral talks by the Federal President, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel.
For further information:
Prime Minister of Armenia: http://www.primeminister.am/hy/
