At the invitation of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has arrived in Georgia on an official visit.
David Zalkaliani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, met the Armenian PM at Shota Rustaveli International Airport of Tbilisi. Nikol Pashinyan headed to the Government of Georgia from the airport, where Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili met him.
The official welcoming ceremony of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia took place. The state anthems of Armenia and Georgia were performed in the presence of the Prime Ministers of the two countries, performed by a military orchestra. Nikol Pashinyan and Irakli Garibashvili, accompanied by the Commander of the Guard of Honor, inspected the military orchestra and Guard of Honor, after which introduced each other to the members of the official delegations of Armenia and Georgia.
Afterwards, Nikol Pashinyan and Irakli Garibashvili held a private conversation.
In his welcoming speech, the Prime Minister of Georgia said,
'' I would like to greet the Prime Minister of Armenia, Mr. Nikol Pashinyan. I am glad that my dear colleague visited Tbilisi today.
I would like to congratulate my colleague once again on his convincing victory in the parliamentary elections. I am confident that he will bring success and development to the Armenian people and Armenia.
Welcome!’’.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said,
‘’ Honorable Mr. Prime Minister,
First of all, let me thank you for the invitation and the warm reception.
It has always been a great honor and pleasure for me to visit the capital of fraternal Georgia, because this is a good opportunity to first communicate with friends and second, to discuss issues of our bilateral, regional and international relations.
I am glad that quite effective cooperation has been established between our governments. I am sure that based on the results of our meeting, the cooperation will become more effective and closer’’.
The private conversation between the Prime Ministers of Armenia and Georgia was followed by an extended-format meeting of the governmental delegations of the two countries. Nikol Pashinyan and Irakli Garibashvili discussed a wide range of issues of the agenda of Armenian-Georgian friendly relations.
The Armenian Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Georgian side and the Georgian Prime Minister for the efforts made by Georgia for returning 15 Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijan, emphasizing that it was a significant contribution to peace and stability in the region. In this context, Nikol Pashinyan highlighted Georgia's balanced position on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, which should be based on the principles proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. The Prime Minister referred to Azerbaijan's unconstructive policy, anti-Armenian rhetoric, which is a threat to regional stability and security.
The Prime Ministers of Armenia and Georgia noted with satisfaction the significant intensification of high-level bilateral official visits in the last three years, which has given a new impetus to the Armenian-Georgian cooperation.
The parties exchanged views on the domestic political situation in the two countries. Prime Minister Pashinyan noted that for the second time in the history of Armenia the elections are recognized by international observers as completely transparent, free and fair, as a result of which it was possible to overcome the domestic political crisis in Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan noted that the strengthening of the rule of law, including the fight against corruption, opening the era of peace and development for the Armenian people, as well as for the region are the priorities of the Armenian Government's Action Plan.
The interlocutors discussed the ways for further development of economic ties. The sides expressed mutual readiness to increase trade turnover. In this regard, the work of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Armenia and Georgia was highlighted, the next sitting of which is scheduled to be held in Georgia at the end of this year. An agreement was reached to continue the ongoing programs, as well as to develop new initiatives in the fields of transport, energy, high technologies and other spheres.
The sides highlighted the five-sided format of cooperation between Armenia-Georgia-Bulgaria-Greece-Iran and the continuous work on the draft agreement on the establishment of an international transport corridor from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea.
