In an X post, Jaishankar said they discussed “advancing trade, investment, education, connectivity, mobility and culture” and also “shared perspectives on the recent global and regional developments.”
“Our agenda is really on how to take each one of those dimensions forward and I look forward to discussing how best we can do that,” he told Mirzoyan at the start of their talks held in an enlarged format.
The two ministers held a separate tete-a-tete meeting earlier in the day. Mirzoyan said they focused on “a couple of very important issues of our bilateral agenda and also of regional and global affairs.” He did not give details. Armenia is “eager to build stronger economic, trade, technological and cultural ties with India,” he said.
“The interlocutors shared their perspectives on recent developments in global politics and highlighted priority areas for cooperation between Armenia and India in the current geopolitical context,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported afterwards.
The two nations have stepped up bilateral cooperation since the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh war during which India’s arch-foe Pakistan strongly supported Azerbaijan. They have signed a series of multimillion-dollar contracts reportedly calling for the delivery of Indian artillery systems, anti-tank rockets and anti-drone equipment to the Armenian army. India appears to have replaced Russia as Armenia’s leading arms supplier.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and his Armenian counterpart Suren Papikian met last month on the sidelines of an arms exhibition held in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru. Singh said they “reviewed the significant progress made in our bilateral defense ties and agreed to further deepen collaboration.”
Also, India, Armenia as well as Iran have been working on an ambitious transport corridor that would pass through their territories. India has built and operates two terminals in the Iranian port of Chabahar to bypass Pakistan in cargo traffic with Iran, Afghanistan and central Asian countries. The Armenian government suggested in 2021 that Indian companies use Chabahar for cargo shipments to not only Armenia but also neighboring Georgia, Russia and even Europe.
