Prime Ministers of Georgia and Armenia pledge to deepen ties
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Wednesday, October 16
Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia's official visit to the Republic of Armenia started with a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The official ceremony was held at the Government of the Republic of Armenia in Yerevan. PM Pashinyan hosted a Georgian counterpart at a face-to-face meeting.
According to information released by the Georgian Prime Minister's press office, the sides focused on bilateral good neighborly relations and deepening cooperation in various fields:
“I would like to assure you that the Georgian government is ready to work harder to make Georgian-Armenian relations even more effective for the benefit of our citizens.
Even though we have very good relations today, we agree that we can develop it further to bring more benefits to our people, including in the economy, construction, infrastructure, culture, sports and in all directions,” - the Georgian PM said.
Pashinyan stated that “one of the biggest achievements” of his 1.5 years in the PM’s post “is further strengthening relations with Georgia.”
He told Gakharia that he expects additional positive developments in relations under his leadership.
“Relations with Georgia are of particular importance to Armenia. It was no coincidence that my first visit abroad was to Georgia. The dynamics of contacts and the current visit also indicate that Georgia also attaches great importance to relations with Armenia, ”the Armenian Prime Minister said.
As Pashinyan noted, the parties reaffirmed the high level of relations and readiness for their development and discussed many issues on the agenda of bilateral relations.
"Our agenda is so busy that it is impossible to discuss all the issues within a single meeting," said the Armenian prime minister.
According to Pashinyan, the sides also discussed the importance of holding an intergovernmental commission meeting and expressed hope for the speedy implementation of bilateral agreements.
Pashinyan also stressed the importance of holding a business forum between the two countries, which would open new perspectives for trade and economic relations. Issues discussed included transport, energy and their role in regional security.
The prime ministers also discussed the issue of cultural heritage protection. Speaking about regional security problems, Pashinyan noted that Armenian-Georgian relations should develop without external pressure.
According to Armenian media, regional conflicts were also discussed at the meeting.
“We believe that conflicts can only be resolved peacefully based on the principles and provisions of international law. We have acknowledged that every conflict is unique and that decisions must be based on its content. We have confirmed a balanced approach to sensitive issues,”- Armenian PM said.
“Peace and tranquility are the most important things for those focused on the economy to give our citizens more prosperity”, Gakharia said in a joint statement after the meeting.
According to him, the friendly relationship between Georgia and Armenia has a centuries-long history and that friendship should deepen and become effective.
According to the PM, regional issues were also discussed at the meeting, including the importance of mutual support on international platforms.
“We agreed that the territorial integrity that Armenia supports is critically important to us, and we thanked for that. The positive changes we have made on international platforms lately in terms of supporting each other should be strengthened and deepened. I would like to thank my colleague for the warm welcome and express my conviction that today's meeting will be another step forward in enhancing effective cooperation between our two countries, ”- Gakharia said.
After the face-to-face meeting, the talks continued in an expanded format involving members of the two countries' governments.
It is Gakharia’s second official visit abroad, after holding meetings in Azerbaijan last week.
