My visit to Armenia, Poland aimed at furthering our friendship Vice President

Vice President M. Hamid Ansari has said that the objective of his visit to Armenia and Poland is to further the friendship and cooperation.

He was addressing the media onboard Air India One Special Aircraft on his way to Armenia, today.

Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Giriraj Singh and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

The Vice President said that Armenia has old cultural links with India. He further said that it is a friendly country to India and India helped them in capacity building.

"The Armenian community in Kolkata had strong cultural presence, including the famous Armenian Church," he added.

He further said that his visit would build on the excellent political relations and good-will the two countries shared.

The Vice President said that Poland is a strong trading partner for India in Central Europe and many Indian companies have a presence there and have made substantive investments.

He further said that Poland has some useful technology, including in areas such s clean coal and India is keen to work with them. "Poland is an important member of NATO and they have been politically supportive of India in forums like NSG," he added.

Reacting to a question on bilateral trade with Armenia, the Vice President said that the geographic location and small market size in Armenia limits the size of our bilateral trade.

"Armenians are known for their trading acumen and are culturally very advanced. India has supported Armenia in the field of Information Technology," he added.

In reply to a question on enhancing economic ties with Poland, the Vice President said that India-Poland trade has been growing and given the potential, it could be expanded further.

He further said that some core areas including coal technology and agriculture had been identified.

"There is much possibility and our business community is showing a lot of interest in Poland," he added.

On a question on Poland's support for India's membership in expanded UN Security Council, the Vice President said that while the rules are being reworked and Poland has been supportive of India, even under the old rules.

On a question about India's defence ties with Poland, the Vice President said that with Poland we have specific areas of defence cooperation and two sides are working to expand the ties.