Following the private talks held between the Prime Ministers of Armenia and Georgia, and the extended meeting between the official delegations, Nikol Pashinyan and Giorgi Kvirikashvili made joint statements for the press on the results of their talks at the Georgian government’s press center.
Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili – Dear Prime Minister, Dear Nikol, Ladies and Gentlemen, first of all, I would like to welcome our dear guest, the Prime Minister of Armenia who is in Georgia for his first official visit.
It is symbolic that the Armenian Prime Minister’s first official visit to Georgia comes just as we are celebrating the centennial anniversary of the independence of our republics.
For both countries, that historical event happened in our city Tbilisi. Taking the opportunity, I once again congratulate our two friendly nations on the 100th anniversary of declaration of independence.
Over 100 years ago, the Georgian and Armenian peoples, despite many challenges and complexities, displayed a particular fighting spirit and enthusiasm as they embraced the democratic path of development.
Georgia and Armenia are connected with each other with centuries-old good-neighborly traditions that reflect today’s partnership. By restoring independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, we were able to develop mutually beneficial cooperation based on mutual trust. Armenia’s stability and democratic development are crucial for Georgia, and this is why Georgia has been closely following the recent developments in friendly Armenia when the Armenian nation showed its commitment to unity and democratic principles throughout the world. I take this occasion and congratulate my dear guest on being elected in this responsible position.
Dear Prime Minister, I once again reaffirm the Georgian government’s commitment and my personal commitment to further effective cooperation. Today we have discussed all the main directions, highlighted our aspiration to having an extensive political dialogue. We also touched upon issues related to the development of trade and economic relations, highlighted the cooperation in transport, energy, tourism, culture, education and information technologies. Despite the existing intensive cooperation, there is a great potential for cooperation in many areas.
During the meeting, we also discussed issues related to cooperation within international and regional organizations. We touched upon the challenges faced in the region and underscored the importance of regional peace and security. We touched upon the deepening of relationships between individual government departments, as well as highlighted the activities of the Commission on Economic Cooperation and the establishment of new working groups.
In the near future, a session of the aforementioned commission will be held, and we have highlighted the main directions on which the commission should focus. We came to terms with the principles on which the future work agenda will be built.
Within the framework of his trip, the Armenian Prime Minister will also visit southern Georgia where he will meet with the local population. The Georgian citizens of Armenian descent are engaged in our statehood building effort, which is a clear evidence of multinational Georgia’s unity. The population of Georgia, regardless of nationality, serves the common goal – strengthening of Georgia and the development of regional relations.
In conclusion, I would like to once again thank my counterpart for this visit, outspoken talks and express my readiness for future cooperation.
Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan – Honorable Prime Minister, distinguished representatives of mass media, ladies and gentlemen; it is a great honor for me to make my first official visit to Georgia because the further development of relations with Georgia has a special place and special significance on our political agenda. In order to develop the Armenian-Georgian relations, no matter what I used to do at a specific point of time, whether as a journalist, as an MP, and now as Prime Minister, I have done everything to contribute to the development of the Armenian-Georgian relations and I feel that we are well poised to fulfill if not all, at least many wishes.
I want to congratulate once again the Georgian State, the people and the Prime Minister of Georgia on the 100th anniversary of statehood restoration. We, too, celebrated the 100th anniversary of the First Republic, and these holidays are really interconnected. The proclamation of the Republic of Armenia took place in Tbilisi and this fact also shows that the Armenian-Georgian relations are very deep and they have a political, historical, human and cultural context and these relations should further develop. We agreed to take very intensive and practical steps in that direction.
In general, I think that the Armenian-Georgian relations have always boasted a positive atmosphere. I hope that we will make this positive atmosphere more specifically in the economic sphere, in the sphere of political relations, in the field of bilateral relations, and I hope that thanks to the work of the Intergovernmental Commission, we will be able to record specific results in many areas of bilateral cooperation in the near future.
We of course discussed the need for a long-term vision in our relationship, because I am convinced that we have long-term and short-term common interests, and we must do everything not only to solve current problems, but also think of long-term challenges in order to be able to evaluate today’s realities more accurately, assess the scale and build up today’s actions on the logic of future and long-term cooperation.
We have a number of joint projects with Georgia and we, of course, will work actively to implement these projects in a timely and high quality. We must work on having new joint projects. And we are convinced that there are no problems in the Armenian-Georgian relations in general, because the most important factor is the desire and desire to solve problems. And our delegation arrived in Tbilisi to confirm our readiness to discuss all issues in the atmosphere of brotherhood and friendship, and we are convinced that this atmosphere and attitude can lead to serious developments in our relations. I am happy to note that the Government of Georgia and the Prime Minister personally have the same mood as regards the furtherance of our relations.
And, in fact, we are at a breakthrough in the development of our relations, where there is a great potential, a great deal of momentum and a great deal of energy in our bilateral relations in terms of promoting them in all directions and at all levels. Of course, the stability of the region is the most important issue. We exchanged views on regional stability, peace and security issues with the Prime Minister. And here we also need to combine our efforts because the regional stability is important for all of us as it is the most important precondition for further developments.
I want to assure you that we were really impressed with the interest shown by the Georgian public to the non-violent, velvet and popular revolution in Armenia in April and May. We keep warm our memories of Georgian journalists’ active participation and cooperation.
I can see here some familiar figures who have become very close to us and it is quite strange that we have seen little in the past fifteen or twenty days, and I am glad that there is such an opportunity, but I hope this mutual interest will be maintained not only during large-scale political events. I think, in most cases we are not aware of the important events inside our countries and the media field we also have a lot to do to get to know each other better and to be well informed about the processes taking place in our countries, and in general we are very close, but I think to the extent that our countries, our peoples, better understand one another in terms of political processes and more they need to be closer.
Certainly, we have come here today to open a specific perspective and address specific problems. And I am convinced that there will be new serious developments in our relations, and these new developments will be in the best interests of the Republic of Armenia and Georgia because we, as sovereign States, are obliged to serve our national interests first of all.
I am convinced that our governments have enough will, sufficient skills to make this cooperation very effective, at a level that citizens of the Republic of Armenia and Georgia could feel it in their everyday life, rapprochement, deepening our friendship and feeling the positive atmosphere It was confirmed during our talks.
Thank you for this warm reception. I am convinced that we will spend a very interesting and meaningful time in Tbilisi, and of course, Mr. Prime Minister, I hope to see you soon in Yerevan, so that this atmosphere might allow us to keep up this mood. I am also glad to note that Georgia will provide a high level of participation at the Francophone Summit to be held in autumn in Yerevan.
Of course, we will have many opportunities to communicate, but I think we should not be content with it, and we should always look for new opportunities to see each other, smile to each other and discuss issues with each other and solve all issues in an atmosphere of friendship and brotherhood.
My best greetings to the fraternal people of Georgia!