The official welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took place at the Georgian government, followed by a private meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries.
As reported by the Armenian Prime Minister’s staff, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia added that Armenia and Georgia live in a complex region, and the two countries understand that regional stability is the foundation for the development of states.
“We must first take care of the peace of our countries, then of political, economic and cultural issues,” said the Georgian Prime Minister.
Nikol Pashinyan noted that it is time to think about joint development in this region, if not for millennia, then for centuries: “What I said is not merely a beautiful formulation; our perceptions of relations with Georgia have a strategic character. Our countries have broader cooperation, both common and differentiated, but we view our regional relations on an entirely different plane. Another factor strengthening Armenian-Georgian relations is the commitment to democratic values. This circumstance is also an important cornerstone.”
He stressed that over the past year and a half, it has been possible to impart a new quality to cooperation with Georgia, and expressed confidence that this visit will further strengthen the level of bilateral interaction. Nikol Pashinyan added that the governments of the two countries have managed to advance all understandings with clear steps.
Subsequently, Nikol Pashinyan and Giorgi Gakharia continued the negotiations in an expanded format. In the opinion of the head of the Armenian government, the executive bodies of the two countries have many opportunities here to bring economic cooperation to an entirely new level: “In that regard as well, democracy is of essential importance, because in my view, if people perceive Armenia and Georgia as a democratic space, the investment attractiveness of our countries will grow. We respect Georgia’s aspirations to integrate into the Euro-Atlantic area. It so happens that our countries have different perceptions regarding security systems, but in my opinion, we have a common perception of our security. Armenia cannot be a security threat to Georgia, and Georgia cannot be a threat to Armenia.
We welcome Georgia’s position that all conflicts must be resolved by peaceful means. Generally, conflicts in the world, including in our region, are absolutely different from one another; they differ in their content, genealogy, history and depth. If it were possible to resolve conflicts with general formulas, they would have been resolved by now. We view each conflict in its own particularities. I am glad that in this regard we can cooperate constructively with Georgia. The fact that we are members of the EAEU and that Georgia has signed a free trade agreement with the EU creates new opportunities for our cooperation, and discussing them will be the core of our discussions,” said Nikol Pashinyan.
Subsequently, the interlocutors discussed a number of issues on the Armenian-Georgian agenda. They touched upon the implementation of prospective projects in transport, energy and other sectors, and emphasised the development of the transit potential of the two countries in the direction of land routes, electric power and telecommunications.
