Increased trade has made Armenia Georgia’s 6th largest partner - Georgian PM

Armenia has become the sixth largest trade partner of Georgia after turnover between the two countries increased by 70 percent between January and November of 2022 to exceeded the $1 billion mark, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Thursday in comments at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Economic Commission in Yerevan.

Co-hosting the meeting with his Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinyan, Garibashvili, who arrived in Yerevan earlier during the day, said the Commission was an "important platform” for strengthening economic, trade, transport and cultural ties. 

We have a centuries-old [legacy of] good neighbourly relations and brotherhood, and I am sure that our meeting today will be another step forward in terms of economic progress, introduction of innovations and advancement of our countries. All this can be achieved only in conditions of peace and regional stability", Garibashvili said.

The PM told the Commission his Government and Georgian citizens were “interested in long-term peace” in the South Caucasus, with the aims leading to his initiative of a “peaceful neighbourhood platform" for mediation between countries of the region.

Garibashvili said the move would help “further strengthen the possibilities to establish long-term peace and stability” in the region, a condition he called a prerequisite for ”strong, long-term economic growth and prosperity for our peoples".