Armenia wants strategic partnership with India: minister

“I believe our relationships are mature enough to be defined as a strategic partnership. I hope that our foreign ministers will discuss this issue,” Armenian Labor Minister Narek Mkrtchyan said in an exclusive interview with Mint.

Mrkrtchyan also said his country is keen to deepen defense ties with India. “We have defense cooperation and we are looking for what can make our cooperation much deeper,” he said in response to a question about planned defense deals between the two countries.

This comes after India increased arms sales and strategic support to Armenia amid clashes with Azerbaijan. Armenia, located in the South Caucasus, clashed with neighboring Azerbaijan for control of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. During a short but intense conflict in 2020, Azerbaijan inflicted serious military setbacks on Armenia.

Since then, the country's defense ties with India have strengthened. Armenia bought the Swathi weapons locating radar system from India in 2020. Following this, a bilateral agreement was reached with New Delhi to supply Armenia with ammunition and multi-barrel rocket launchers for Pinaka, as well as anti-tank ammunition.

In November 2022, Kalyani Strategic Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharat Forge, won a $155 million contract to supply artillery guns to Armenia, according to numerous media reports citing Defense Ministry sources.

This has led to closer strategic cooperation between the two countries. Armenia's national security chief met with NSA Ajit Doval in August 2023, which took place after a meeting between Defense Ministers Suren Papikyan and Rajanth Singh in October 2022.

Armenia would also like to see Indian companies tender for infrastructure construction in the country, especially for major projects such as the North-South Road, which runs the length of the country. It connects Armenia's southern border with Iran to the country's northern border with Georgia.

According to people with knowledge of the matter, the road needs improvements to manage the flow of heavy trucks, which could provide opportunities for Indian infrastructure companies.

“There are still undeveloped parts of the road, such as some tunnels and some bridges, that need to be constructed. When an international tender is announced, the Government of Armenia will also be happy to solicit proposals from India,” Mkrtchyan said about the project.

“We announce international tenders and welcome proposals from international construction companies. For example, we are building 300 to 500 schools and kindergartens and this is also an opportunity for Indian companies to come and participate in tenders,” said Mkrtchyan.

“We are now implementing a mega project of an academic city in Armenia, which will create universities. We will announce an international tender and we will be happy to see Indian companies investing and doing business in Armenia,” he added.

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Published: Feb 25, 2024 12:56 IST