Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan today, in an online format, participated in the plenary session of the official opening of the second Summit for Democracy held at the initiative of the U.S. President Joe Biden.

During his speech, Pashinyan said his government continues to implement democratic reform agenda despite ongoing global and regional challenges.

“As a result, our country improved its positions in various global rankings. The Freedom House has ranked Armenia as a “free” country in its annual report on the Net Freedom. Armenia has also recorded unprecedented progress in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index published by the Reporters without Borders improving its positions by 12 points. Last year Armenia improved its positions by 7 points in the democracy index published by Economist Intelligence Unit,” Pashinyan said according to a statement released by his office.

Pashinyan thanked the U.S. and its other international partners for their efforts to halt further Azerbaijani incursions into sovereign Armenian territory.

Pashinyan said his administration is committed to the peace process with Azerbaijan despite Baku’s continued blockade of the Lachin Corridor.

“Armenia feels strongly about human rights violations across the world and there is a lot that we need to do together to prevent genocides, ethnic cleansings, and atrocities. What is happening to the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh today, the blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan and the humanitarian crisis resulted by it, is an attempt of ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh,” he said.

Pashinyan said democracy is work in progress and that his administration will work to raise Armenia’s global democratic ranking.  

“I believe in the power of democracy for peace, for freedom, for happiness,” he said.

Leaders of more than one hundred countries, as well as representatives of civil society and international democratic institutions, are participating in the second Summit for Democracy.