State minister of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Arayik Harutyunyan on Wednesday, November 22 met California State Senator Anthony J. Portantino and Glendale city councilman Zareh Sinanyan.

Armenia's Consul General Armella Shakaryan and Permanent Representative of Karabakh to the U.S. Robert Karapetyan were also participating in the meeting.

The sides, in particular, weighed in on the ways to deepen political and trade ties between Artsakh and California and agreed on future steps.

Harutyunyan then met with the members of the Armenian business council to introduce Karabakh's economic potential, investment attractiveness and achievements of the past several years.

According to the state minister, Artsakh has seen an average of 10% annual GDP growth in the past 10 yeas, which has help further boost the country's attractiveness for investments.

Armenia's ambassador to the United States Grigor Hovhannissian in September met U.S. Representative for California Mimi Walters to discuss trade relations between the country and the U.S. state.

At the meeting in Washington, the two discussed Armenia's partnership with California and establishing a trade office in Los Angeles.