Armenian, Georgian Prime Ministers Discuss Economic Relations and Regional Stability in the South Caucasus

TBILISI — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili discussed ways to boost relations between the two neighboring countries, during Pashinyan’s official visit to Tbilisi on Wednesday

Pashinyan praised Georgia for its balanced position on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which he said should be based on the principles proposed by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. Pashinyan said also that Azerbaijan’s destructive policy and the anti-Armenian rhetoric pose a threat to regional stability and security.

Georgia’s Prime Minister stressed the importance of political stability in Armenia and praised Pashinyan’s vision for restoring peace and strengthening stability in the South Caucasus after last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The Karabakh war was a tough challenge for our region,” he told a joint news briefing. “But after familiarizing myself with Prime Minister Pashinyan’s new vision I believe this challenge will turn into a new opportunity that will bring prosperity to Armenia and the Armenian people.”

“I also want to make clear that political and economic stability in Armenia is very important for us. It is directly connected with stability in our country and the region as a whole,” he said.

The Prime Ministers noted with satisfaction the increasing high-level bilateral official mutual visits over the past three years, which have given a new push to the Armenian-Georgian cooperation.

The parties exchanged also views on the political situation in the two countries and discussed ways to boost economic ties. The bilateral readiness to increase the foreign trade was emphasized. In this regard, they attached importance to the Armenian-Georgian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, the next meeting of which is scheduled to be held in Georgia at the end of this year.

An agreement was reached to continue the current joint programs, as well as to develop new initiatives in the fields of transport, energy, high technologies and others.

The importance of the five-sided cooperation Armenia-Georgia-Bulgaria-Greece-Iran and the ongoing work on the draft agreement on the creation of an international transport corridor that would connect Iran’s Persian Gulf ports to the Black Sea via Armenia and Georgia.