Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Richard Verma has hailed the “important time” in Washington’s relationship with Yerevan.

Verma made the remarks at a meeting with Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan on the sidelines of the Armenia-U.S. Local Democracy Forum.

"It is a great honor for me to meet with You. This is my first visit to Armenia, but I have worked on this relationship for many years. It's really wonderful to be here with the team. This is such an important time in our relationship," Verma said. Khachaturyan said the U.S. diplomat’s visit is important in the context of increasing the role of “decentralized cooperation”. “From my personal experience, I know very well what this means. I attach great importance to your visit and to paying special attention to this initiative,” the Armenian President said.

“I would like to emphasize that the government of our country pays special attention to the equal development of the territories of Armenia. This is also the aim of the idea and implementation of the communities’ consolidation, the result of which we are seeing.

“We are very interested in making full use of Armenia's development potential outside Yerevan. In this regard, this event and the initiative are very important. Thank You one more time for your visit."