Vice president Shekhawat meets Armenian president

Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Thursday had a meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharian soon after arriving in Yerevan on a two-day visit, which is expected to give a major impetus to relations between the two countries.

The Vice President flew to Yerevan from Minsk on the third leg of his three-nation tour that earlier took him to Romania and Belarus. He was received warmly by Vahan Hovhannisyan, Deputy Chairperson of the National Assembly of Armenia, and Michael Carvardanyan of the Armenia-India Parliamentary group.

Soon after his arrival, the Vice President had a meeting with Kocharian. This is the first ever Indian Vice Presidential visit to this Commonwealth of Independent States country, which is the smallest of the nations that came into existence after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

During his visit, the Vice President will be addressing the national assembly of Armenia. On Friday, he will be conferred honorary degree by Yerevian State Medical University where some 400 Indian students are studying.