Georgian, Armenian PMs talk close partnership, joint prospects in Yerevan
Garibashvili and Pashinyan met in Yerevan while their foreign ministers also held discussions on Wednesday around cooperation and regional stability, along with other topics. Photo via Georgian government press office.
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Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili is on official visit to Yerevan, with the head of the government and his Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinyan discussing ties in fields including energy and economy as well as prospects for further cooperation between the countries.
Also involving Georgia's foreign minister David Zalkaliani as part of the government delegation, the visit on Wednesday included a press briefing where both PMs made statements on plans to deepen collaboration in trade, logistics and cultural relations.
In his statement Garibashvili said the meetings between the high-ranking officials discussed "how to develop additionally our trade and economic relations, our cultural relations [and] cooperation in fields such as transportation and logistics."
Great discussion @NikolPashinyan on ????????-???????? friendship which goes back many centuries. ???????? is interested in the sustainable peace, stability & democratic devt of ????????, as well as the entire region. We agreed to develop our econ, trade & cultural relations & step up regional co-op. pic.twitter.com/zg7MaMft8E
— Irakli Garibashvili (@GharibashviliGe) May 12, 2021
Deepening mutual ties in the subjects would "bring us even closer in the regional prism", the Georgian PM added, while Pashinyan spoke of a "vital role" of "special" relations with Georgia in Armenia's foreign relations.
The head of the host government said the meeting with his counterpart from Tbilisi had talked "more efficient use of regional transport and communications [infrastructure]", adding the two sides had stressed the importance of "development of transit potential."
Participating in a visit to our friendly neighbor ???????? W PM @GharibashviliGe, where we are to hold high-level meetings & discuss ????????-???????? fruitful cooperation in various contexts.
— David Zalkaliani (@DZalkaliani) May 12, 2021
Experiences in the two countries' struggle against the Covid pandemic were also shared between the Georgian government delegation and Pashinyan's team in Yerevan, in addition to questions of regional stability and the need of resolving the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone through OSCE channels.
As part of the formal government visit, Georgia's foreign minister Zalkaliani also met his Armenian colleague Ara Aivazian to share ideas on deepening "dynamic" economic cooperation. The Georgian FM also reiterated Georgia's readiness to serve as a platform for dialogue between parties in conflict across the region during the meeting.