This article covers the diplomatic history of India and Armenia, the visits and meetings between their leaders and ministers, the mechanisms through which the two governments hold dialogue, parliamentary contacts and cooperation in international organisations. Its source is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) brief on India-Armenia relations, dated June 2026.

Establishment of diplomatic relations

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, India recognised Armenia on 26 December 1991, and India's Ambassador in Moscow was concurrently accredited to Armenia. The Protocol on establishment of Diplomatic relations between India and Armenia was signed on 31 August 1992 in Moscow.

In 2022, the two countries celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The brief describes India and Armenia as sharing friendly relations rooted in the historical ties between the people of the two countries.

Visits by heads of state and government

During the Soviet era, President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan visited Armenia in September 1964 and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in June 1976. After the independence of Armenia, the brief records three Presidential-level visits from Armenia, in 1995, 2003 and 2017. The list of visits annexed to the brief names the visitors as President Levon Ter-Petrossian (December 1995), President Robert Kocharyan (October 2003) and President Serzh Sargsyan (November 2017).

The most recent of these was the visit of President Serzh Sargsyan from 2-4 November 2017, during which he met the President, the Prime Minister and the Vice President of India. From India, the brief describes the visits of Vice President B. S. Shekhawat in October 2005 and Vice President Hamid Ansari in April 2017 as the highest-level visits to Armenia.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to visit Armenia. The invitation was reiterated when the two Prime Ministers met on the sidelines of the UNGA in September 2019. India had proposed a visit by the Vice President to Armenia in July 2020, but it was postponed due to the pandemic.

Meetings between the Prime Ministers

The brief records that PM Pashinyan and PM Modi again met briefly:

  • on the sidelines of the 79th UNGA in New York on 24 September 2024;
  • in Paris, at the official dinner hosted by French President Mr. Emmanuel Macron for heads of state and government attending the Global Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, held from 10-11 February 2025;
  • on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, on 31 August 2025.
  • after the brief, on the sidelines of the 26th SCO Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, on 31 August 2026, their first meeting since PM Pashinyan's re-appointment following the General Elections in Armenia.

PM Pashinyan congratulated PM Modi in a telephone conversation on 06 June 2024, following the victory of the National Democratic Alliance led by PM Modi in the General Elections. On 08 June 2026, PM Modi congratulated PM Pashinyan on the ruling Civil Contract Party's victory in the 07 June Parliamentary Elections.

PM Pashinyan also sent a message of condolences to PM Modi on the death of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan visited the Indian Embassy in Yerevan on 30 December 2024 to sign the condolence book on behalf of the Government of Armenia. The External Affairs Minister (EAM) met PM Pashinyan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on 24 October 2024.

Foreign ministers and senior officials

The EAM and the Armenian Foreign Minister met in New York in September 2022, December 2022 and September 2023 on the sidelines of the UNGA. They met again on 18 February 2024 on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, and on 12 June 2025 on the sidelines of the Raisina Mediterranean Conference in Marseille, France. On 09 August 2025, the EAM spoke to his counterpart by telephone to convey India's felicitations and best wishes for the peace deal reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 08 August 2025 in Washington DC.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan paid a bilateral visit to India from 09-11 March 2025 at the invitation of EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar, and the two held delegation-level talks. Two Memoranda of Understanding were signed during the visit:

  • MoU on Cooperation between Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service of India and Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia;
  • MoU between Central Drug Standards Control Organization (CDSCO), India and Center of Drug and Medical Technology Expertise (CDMTE) Armenia.

During the same visit, FM Mirzoyan delivered a lecture at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) on "Armenia-India in a Changing World: Strengthening Ties, Securing Future Relations". The annexure to the brief also lists visits to India by FM Mirzoyan in April 2022 and March 2023, and a visit to Armenia by EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar in October 2021.

In May 2026, Amb. Sripriya Ranganathan, Secretary (CPV & OIA), led the Indian delegation to the 3rd edition of the Yerevan Dialogue, held from 04-06 May 2026, and met Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan on its sidelines.

Dialogue mechanisms

Bilateral dialogue is conducted through Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) and the Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economics, Scientific and Technological, Cultural and Educational Cooperation (IGC). The brief lists the following recent sessions:

  • the 7th IGC and the 8th FOC, held in Yerevan on 01 April, 2016;
  • the 9th FOC, held in virtual format on 18 February 2022;
  • the 8th IGC, held in Yerevan on 04 July 2022, with FM Mirzoyan leading the Armenian delegation and Secretary (West), Shri Sanjay Verma, leading the Indian delegation;
  • the 10th FOC, held in New Delhi on 18 November 2023, led by Shri Sanjay Verma and Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan;
  • the 11th FOC, held in Yerevan on 07 November 2025, led by Amb. Sibi George, Secretary (West), and DFM Mnatsakan Safaryan.

India, Armenia and Iran have also held trilateral consultations: the 1st in Yerevan in April 2023, the 2nd in New Delhi on 12 December 2024 and the 3rd in Tehran on 08 September 2025. The Indian delegation was led by JS (PAI) at all three. An India-Armenia Policy Planning Dialogue was held in Yerevan in July 2023, with the Indian delegation led by JS (PP&R), Dr. Sumit Seth.

Armenia has also taken part in the Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS). Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Paruyr Hovhannisyan joined the Foreign Ministers' Session of the 2nd VOGSS on 17 November 2023, and Finance Minister Mr. Vahe Hovhannisyan joined the Finance Minister's Session of the 3rd VOGSS on 17 August 2024. Both sessions were held virtually.

Parliamentary cooperation

During the visit of Vice President Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in October 2005, an MoU was signed between the two Parliaments. It provides for exchanges of visits and information and the formation of a parliamentary friendship group. The first visit to Armenia by Indian Parliamentarians took place in October 2013, when Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, led a delegation that included 8 MPs.

More recent parliamentary contacts recorded in the brief include:

  • a courtesy call on the Speaker of the Lok Sabha on 02 March 2023 by the Vice President of the Armenian National Assembly, who was in India for the Raisina Dialogue;
  • a meeting between Mr. Hakob Arshakyan, Vice President of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Armenia-India Friendship Group, and an Indian delegation led by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Shri Harivansh Narayan Singh, at the 148th Assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva, held from 22-27 March 2024; the two met again at the 150th IPU Assembly in Tashkent on 11 April 2025;
  • participation by Shri Amar Pal Maurya (Rajya Sabha) and Shri Saumitra Khan (Lok Sabha) in the 10th IPU Global Conference of Young parliamentarians in Yerevan from 12-14 September 2024;
  • a meeting between Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla and Mr. Alen Simonyan, President of the National Assembly of Armenia, at the 149th IPU on 15 October 2024 in Geneva;
  • a visit to India by Mr. Simonyan from 16-20 December 2024, during which he called on President Smt. Droupadi Murmu, Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Shri Jagdeep Dhankar, and Speaker Shri Om Birla;
  • participation by Mr. Zaruhi Batoyan, Member of the Armenian National Assembly, in the "Purple Fest 2025" in Goa from 09-12 October 2025.

In February 2026, Speaker Shri Om Birla constituted an 11-Member India-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Lok Sabha, with Shri Dharmendra Yadav, MP, as its President.

Cooperation in international organisations

The brief states that Armenia has been steadfast in its support to India's candidatures in various international bodies. Armenia's membership of India-led initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance is covered in this guide's article on development partnership and cooperation.