Yerevan, December 19. /Mediamax/. Armenia has become a partner state of U.S.-funded Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) project funded

Within the framework of this project, the U.S. is planning to allocate USD 1.5 to Armenia to enhance its peacekeeping capabilities within 2 years, Mediamax reports.

After the Armenian-U.S. bilateral conferences held at the Defense Ministry today, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Evelyn Farkas stated that the project is aimed at the strengthening of the peacekeeping capabilities of all the partner states, including Armenia, that are involved in the UN and regional peacekeeping activities.

“The new partnership between the U.S. and Armenia offers a serious incentive in regard to Armenia’s willingness to participate in the peacekeeping activities in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Iraq. Armenia is an important partner for the U.S. in several spheres – in the Caucasus, NATO, European Command in the U.S., Kansas National Guard, Kosovo and Afghanistan”, Evelyn Farkas noted.

According to her, the professional and effective support of Armenian Armed Forces in the international peacekeeping missions was way more than it could be expected from similar size units involved in those missions.

“Armenia’s support in the coalitional and peacekeeping activities is worth special appreciation as your Armed Forces ensure security in more unsettled regions”, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense said.

She added that it will create new opportunities for Armenia’s future involvement in the peacekeeping activities. In his turn, Armenian First Deputy Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan stated that the GPOI will provide an opportunity to establish necessary infrastructures for military trainings, invite military experts and expand Armenia’s involvement in peacekeeping activities.

“Within the framework of GPOI project, a development program of educational-training possibilities was launched to enhance our peacekeeping capabilities; it will contribute to the participation of Armenian peacekeepers in international activities, particularly, the UNIFIL peacekeeping action in Lebanon”, Davit Tonoyan said.

According to the Deputy Minister of Defense, considering the role of the U.S. in NATO-Armenia cooperation as well as its position in Nagorno Karabakh conflict regulation, Armenia believes that the bilateral cooperation with the U.S. is one of the main tools ensuring its safety.