YEREVAN, March 4. /ARKA/. The World Bank and Armenia have reached the final stage of developing a new partnership strategy that is based on the country's priorities, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Antonella Bassani said today at a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan.

Pashinyan, according to the government press service, said the cooperation between his government and the World Bank has been effective.

He also highlighted a number of joint projects implemented in the spheres of energy, transportation, and education.

The sides expressed satisfaction with the results of the jointly implemented pilot educational program in Tavush region and expressed hope that it will be extended to other regions of the country.

The sides also discussed a set of issues related to the forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, the project Crossroads of Peace developed by the government in order to reopen the transportation routes in the South Caucasus in accordance with the principles of sovereignty, jurisdiction, equality and reciprocity.

Since its arrival in Armenia in 1992, the World Bank has provided about $2.7 billion to the country through the International Development Association (IDA), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and trust funds. Currently, the WB is financing 10 projects in Armenia with a total value of $500 million. -0-