Armenia and the South Caucasus in general have a strategic importance for Italy, president Sergio Mattarella said at a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan on Friday, April 6.

Sargsyan is in Italy to participate in the unveiling of a statue Armenian monk St. Gregory of Narek in the Vatican, which was held on Thursday.

According to the Italian leader, he will be visiting Armenia, most probably in summer, to reaffirm the friendly relations between the two countries and give a new lease of life to bilateral relations.

Weighing in on the economic ties, Mattarella hailed the growing Italian investments in Armenia which amount to about $200 million.

The two also discussed the Comprehensive and Enhances Partnership Agreement signed between Yerevan and the European Union in November 2017, which, according to the Italian president, proves that the East and the West “are one whole”.

Also, Mattarella said the deal can serve as a bridge between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union.

At the end of the meeting, the two discussed the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, stressing that the OSCE Minsk Group is the only body mandated to mediate the process.

Earlier, Sargsyan met Italian Senate president Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati.