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The President of the Republic met with the Armenian President15.11.2004
 President Rüütel, in the course of his official visit, today in Yerevan, met with the President of the Republic of Armenia Robert Kocharian. The official welcoming ceremony in front of the Presidential Palace was followed by a meeting of the heads of State and delegations. The meeting addressed prospective fields of cooperation between the two countries, emphasizing Estonian experience in implementing reforms and European integration that are also of interest to Armenia. Also cooperation in the fields of economy and culture was discussed, as well as cooperation on the level of local municipalities.
Rector of the University of Tartu, Jaak Aaviksoo spoke about contacts between Estonia and Armenia in the field of higher education, which have a couple of hundred years long history; undoubtedly the best known example here is Hatschatur Abovyan, a great figure in Armenian literature, who was a student at the University of Tartu in the years 1830-1836. State Secretary Heiki Loot informed about the experience of the Estonian government in using electronic information system for cabinet meetings. Two heads of State gave a joint press conference.
Afterwards the President of the Republic had a meeting with the Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly, Artur Bagdasaryan and other members of the National Assembly, where various fields of bilateral cooperation were discussed. The Armenian side was very interested to learn about Estonian experiences also through contacts between the parliaments.
President Rüütel laid a wreath at the Genocide Memorial and planted a spruce on the avenue of high-ranking guests visiting Armenia. Mayor of Yerevan Yervand Zakharyan showed President Rüütel a memorial tablet to Hedvig Büll (1887-1981), who was born in Haapsalu and had dedicated her life to helping Armenians suffering in the tumult of difficult history.
In the afternoon, two Presidents opened an Estonian-Armenian business seminar in the building of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia. Opening the seminar, President Kocharian said that such a meeting of business people of two countries, which is taking place the first time since the restoration of independence, gives a reason for optimism. According to the Armenian Head of State, the two countries both have a stable internal policy situation and enjoy the membership in the World Trade Organisation.
In his opening address, President Rüütel said that so far the trade relations of the two countries have been limited to contacts between individual companies. "But the members of our business delegation have come here having a clear interest in cooperation and wishing to find their niche, for example, in the field of industrial electronics, telecommunication and information technology", added the President of the Republic.
Also General Manager of the Armenian Development Agency Vahagn Movsisyan, Chairman of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Toomas Luman, as well as Chairman of the Armenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Martin Sarkisyan and President of the Union of manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia Arsen Ghazaryan addressed the business seminar.
Executive Director of e-Governance Academy spoke about various IT-related development projects in Estonia. On Tuesday a separate seminar will be held at the Armenian Development Agency where both Armenian and Estonian e-governance specialists will give an overview of their experience. President Kocharian stressed that the interest of Armenian side is to expand the e-governance, which has proved to be successful on the central government level also to the level of local governments.
Yesterday the President of the Republic and Mrs. Ingrid Rüütel made a tour to the first century Garni Temple dedicated to Helios; the 13th century, carved into a rock Geghard Monastery and also to Lake Sevan. On Sunday evening, the Estonian Head of State visited the Sergei Parajanov Museum. Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990) was an artist and a movie- maker who during the Soviet time had been imprisoned because of his works. In the museum the Estonian Minister of Culture, Urmas Paet and the Armenian Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs, Hovik Hoveyan signed an agreement on cultural cooperation between the two countries.
President Rüütel continues his official visit in Armenia and will arrive back in Estonia tomorrow in the evening.
Public Relations Unit of the Office of the President
Yerevan, November 15, 2004
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