For the opening ceremony of the Initial Planning Conference of Exercises Cooperative Longbow and Lancer, to be held in Yerevan, from January 29th to February 1st 2008.

Yerevan, 29 January 2008, 09:00 AM Dear colleagues, Dear guests, Allow me to welcome you and congratulate all of us with the beginning of the Initial Planning Conference of the “COOPERATIVE LONGBOW and LANCER” exercises in Armenia. The participation of 110 representatives of 25 nationalities from 20 states by itself is an evidence of importance and timeliness of these exercises. It is notable that by the number of participating states the exercises include rather large geographic region. In this respect, it is noteworthy to mention the participation of delegates from the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative states, particularly the ones from the United Arabic Emirates. We can already claim that the conduct of exercises of PFP and exercises that are in the spirit of PFP in Armenia are becoming a good tradition. Each year the activeness of participation of the representatives from the Armenian Armed Forces those exercises is increasing. As early as in 2003 Armenia hosted the exercise “COOPERATIVE BEST EFFORT”, the exercise “RESCUER” in 2006 and in 2007 the exercise “COMBINED ENDEAVOUR”. However, the exercises “COOPERATIVE LONGBOW AND LANSER” are the largest among the PFP and in the spirit of PFP exercises ever conducted in the Southern Caucasus region in terms of their capacity and the number of participating states. In this regard, the role played by NATO, the United States and other partners should be signified, as it was due to the cooperation between them and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia that the organization of this event became possible. It is welcoming that our cooperation with NATO has ascending development. Armenia highly appreciates the stabilizing role of NATO, a cornerstone organization for European Security, in strengthening of security of our region. We are implementing numerous joint programmes in order to develop perspective and proper relations with the North Atlantic Alliance and enhance interoperability. The best evidence of the high levels of this cooperation is the conduct of such exercises. Generally, exercises not only contribute to the testing of professional skills and interoperability of participating units and personnel, but also are a good opportunity for the units from various states, interested in the overall security and stability of our region, to develop combined operations and jointly implement given tasks as a team. Therefore Armenia has always been willing to host such events and open its welcoming doors to the participants by trying to provide for them the most comfortable working environment. While expressing my gratitude to our partners for high motivation in cooperation, great support provided for the organization of the conference and active participation in this event, I would like to assure you that the planning conference will be carried out in a warm atmosphere, and the exercises, scheduled to be held in September 2008, will be conducted with high level of organization and professionalism. At the same time I hope, that during your stay in Armenia you will also have an opportunity to familirise yourself with the history and culture of our country by taking with you pleasant memories, with a desire to come back to Armenia again, if given the opportunity. I wish productive work and good luck to all participants.