Armenia has cooperated with NATO for quite a long time, with progress made in all the spheres, Head of Armenian Foreign Ministry’s Arms Control and International Security Department Samvel Mkrtchyan told reporters today during the NATO Week in Armenia event.

“In parallel, we also present new cooperation programs involving more spheres,” Mkrtchyan said when speaking about the four main components of cooperation: political dialog, defense, cooperation on emergency situations, and peacekeeping cooperation.

For his part, NATO Liaison Officer for the South Caucasus William Lahue stressed the importance of Armenia-NATO relations, calling them unique as Armenia is Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) only member state to participate in peacekeeping missions of NATO.

According to W. Lahue, NATO builds relations with Armenia on the basis of partnership interests, rather than a competitive basis, and the aim of Armenia-NATO cooperation is to contribute to peace and stability not only in the region, but also around the world.

NATO Week in Armenia is being held on November 2-6 as part of Armenia’s Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO.