The Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia Armen Grigoryan Delivered a Speech at the “Crossroads of Peace” Conference

03 / 11 / 2025

The Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, participated in and delivered a speech at the “Crossroads of Peace” conference organized by the international political advisory organization Rasmussen Global in Brussels.

The full text of the Security Council Secretary’s speech is provided below.

"Distinguished Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honor to address this distinguished audience gathered to discuss current opportunities for peace, prosperity and connectivity in the South Caucasus region, for which the “Crossroads of Peace” project can pave the way forward. But first of all let me express my gratitude to everyone, who is here today, for whom this dialogue on peace, stability and security in the South Caucasus and beyond is important. For Armenia, the “Crossroads of Peace” project is not just an infrastructural project – it is a vision for interconnectivity, interdependence and cooperation for the entire region and beyond.

For decades, the South Caucasus has been defined by conflicts, closed borders and lost opportunities. But things have started changing. A Joint Declaration by the President of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of the United States of America was signed on August 8, 2025. This important event laid the foundations for peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus marking a decisive step toward unblocking of the region.

Since 8 August, Armenia and Azerbaijan have made deliberate efforts to build on the progress achieved thus far and to strengthen their engagement. For instance, for the first time, on October 21-22, a delegation of Azerbaijani civil society representatives traveled to Armenia to participate in a bilateral round-table discussion. Armenian civil society representatives are also expected to make a reciprocal visit to Azerbaijan. Prior to the engagement of the civil society representatives, the head of the National Security Service of Armenia paid a visit to Baku to participate in the International Security Forum. These kinds of visits and exchanges will further help to foster trust and mutual understanding between both societies, at the same time strengthen peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

It is the unblocking of the region that constitutes the cornerstone of efforts to institutionalize peace in our region. The Government of Armenia's “Crossroads of Peace” envisions a region connected through roads, railways, energy transits, and digital networks. I would like to emphasize that the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, short TRIPP, is also an integral part of the “Crossroads of Peace” project as agreed in the US-Armenia bilateral memorandum of understanding regarding the “Crossroads of Peace Capacity Building Partnership”. The objective of the Crossroads of Peace is to connect people and enhance trade and innovation. The Washington Agreement opened a new window of opportunity to realize that objective.

To create a better picture of how “Crossroads of Peace” would affect trade routes, the Armenian research institute “Amberd” has carried out a detailed research, which demonstrates that a new trade route between the EU and China via Armenia could become shorter by 5% to 10% compared to the existing ones.

Today, the positive effects of stability are already visible. Armenia’s economy, particularly its dynamic IT and technology sectors as well as tourism are growing rapidly, benefiting from a safer and more predictable environment. Armenia is launching a landmark $500 million AI infrastructure project in partnership with NVIDIA and Firebird, positioning the country among the world’s leading high-performance computing hubs. Between May and August 2025, Armenia saw a remarkable rise in tourism. For example in June, over 215.000 tourists arrived in Armenia - a 19% increase compared to 2024. Our assessment is that the reason for such a spike is that on March 14 Armenia and Azerbaijan announced about finalizing the negotiation of the text of the Peace Agreement. And people living in different countries reacted to this announcement. The September economic activity number also speaks of the possible impact of the August 8 announcement. 10.5% growth.
This demonstrates that peace fosters business, innovation and prosperity.

Distinguished colleagues,

Armenia is ready to continue this path with commitment and transparency. We see the Crossroads of Peace not only as a transport project, but as a political statement — that dialogue works, that cooperation is possible, and that regional security can be built through shared prosperity. However, this process also requires the engagement of all — our European partners, our partners in North and South America, and our neighbors in the South Caucasus, Central Asia and the wider region.

Besides institutionalizing the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, another priority for the Armenian government is the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkiye. Armenia has made all the necessary preparations for opening borders with Turkey. According to the “Amberd” institute research, open borders could lead to mutual benefits both for our people and economies by increasing Armenia-Turkiye trade by 200%. Using the Turkish territory could make the trade route between Armenia and Eastern Europe shorter by 10% to 25% and from Armenia to Central Europe by 5% to 15%.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to thank you for this conference and the opportunity to speak about Armenia’s vision, peace, prosperity and stability that can benefit nations and the region at large.

Thank you.