“We are keen to further promote our friendly relations based on common values and historic ties,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Twitter post.

Germany and Armenia have enjoyed good bilateral relations since 1992. As a member of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Minsk Group, Germany supports the Co-Chairs’ efforts to negotiate in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and in view of the most recent war that lasted from September to November 2020, Germany points out that a political solution to the conflict must be found.

Germany has contributed a total of 2 million euro to the humanitarian aid efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Germany supports ongoing efforts at civil-society level by funding cross-border reconciliation projects.

Germany is Armenia’s principal trading partner in the EU. Its main exports to Armenia are motor vehicles, machinery, chemicals and electrical engineering products. Its main imports from Armenia are iron, steel, copper, molybdenum and other metals, as well as textiles. Germany is one of the most important foreign direct investors in the country.

In terms of development cooperation, Germany is the major bilateral donor to Armenia alongside the United States. Cooperation focuses on sustainable development, environmental and climate protection, democracy, municipal development and rule of law promotion.

The main goal of Germany’s cultural relations and education policy in Armenia is to promote German as a foreign language at both school and university level. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Federal Office of Administration – Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA) have their own German staff in Armenia. A Goethe-Zentrum opened in Yerevan in 2017, with the Language Training Centre based in the same building. There are a good many cooperation arrangements between German and Armenian higher education institutions.

The political foundations Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V., Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and Heinrich Böll Foundation, as well as the German Adult Education Association (DVV) and the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ), have offices in Yerevan staffed by local employees.