Following their private talks and the official delegations’ extended meeting, Prime Ministers Karen Karapetyan and Giorgi Kvirikashvili met with mass media representatives at the press center of Georgian government and issued a statement summarizing the results of negotiations. Below is the full text of the statements made by the Prime Ministers of Armenia and Georgia:
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili – I warmly welcome the Prime Minister of Armenia, my friend Karen Karapetyan.
I am glad that we had the opportunity to discuss several issues regarding the furtherance of bilateral relations. We will be able to contribute significantly to the further development of good-neighborly relations between Armenia and Georgia.
We expressed readiness to continue high-level meetings and further support the ongoing close per-sector cooperation between individual agencies.
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In the eyes of Georgia, Armenia is a country with which we share centuries of good-neighborly traditions. 2017 is a remarkable year as we are marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Armenia.
Throughout these years, we managed to solidify the friendly relations between our nations and build mutually beneficial cooperation. Parliamentary elections are due in Armenia this April, and we are convinced that the elections will be conducted at a high level in full compliance with the international standards and the principles of democracy.
During the meeting, we discussed the main areas of bilateral cooperation, including the actual state of trade and economic ties and the development prospects. We dwelt on important issues related to transport, energy, tourism, culture and other spheres. A special focus was placed on regional challenges. We stressed that that peace and stability are crucial for our countries’ development.
The Prime Minister of Armenia came up with quite interesting suggestions regarding the full utilization of the common cross-industry market of both countries. We expressed readiness to work actively in this area and motivate the private sectors of both countries to tap the potential of regional cooperation.
I would like to once again thank my counterpart for visiting Georgia. I do believe that this visit will add momentum to bilateral relations. Thank you.
RA Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan – Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. On behalf of my delegation, I wish to thank you for both the invitation and the warm welcome – warm in terms of both the substantial discussion and the sunny weather we had.
As my counterpart noted, we had quite substantial discussion of all those issues of interest to our countries.
We agreed to give new impetus to all these directions. We talked about finding new approaches to regional cooperation, and I believe that here we have great development potential.
We would like Georgians to view Armenia as a country that is worth investing in and visiting as a tourist. We agreed to move forward in that direction. Moreover, our partners have clear instructions, namely to organize an “open day” for all Georgian businessmen who are interested in Armenian and neighboring markets.
Taking this opportunity, I want to once again thank my Georgian counterpart and invite him to pay an official visit to Yerevan at any convenient for him time so that we could build on the new potential, which is being laid at the heart of our relations. I am convinced that we have very exciting opportunities. Thank you.