U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan continued the establishment of a new era in cooperation between the United States and Armenia this week when they met in Yerevan to sign three key bilateral agreements.
The first, promised as part of the U.S.-brokered peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, is a framework agreement on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP. The agreement takes steps to establish an unimpeded multimodal transit corridor that will connect the mainland of Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on Armenian territory along the border with Iran. The route will contribute to a peace through prosperity model for the two countries on the basis of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction of the states.
The agreement lays groundwork for the TRIPP Development Company or TDC, which is a joint venture between the U.S. and Armenia intended to support trade, transport and economic prosperity while enhancing international, inter-state, and intra-state transportation connectivity. “This is a key lynchpin of the peace deal that [President Trump was] able to achieve between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” noted Secretary Rubio when he returned to Washington.
Secretary Rubio noted that TRIPP is just one aspect of a burgeoning new economic relationship. The two countries signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Charter and the Framework for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths.
“To put it in very simple terms, we are laying groundwork for the sort of economic engagement that allows Armenians to make money and find prosperity and Americans to do the same, and to do it together, which is one of the strongest ways to bind nations with one another,” said Secretary Rubio, who noted that respect for sovereignty is key. “That’s how a bilateral relationship works the best, is when both countries see an advantage in working on things together.”
The U.S. will continue to support Armenia as it “blazes a trail” toward a brighter and more independent future, said Secretary Rubio.