Thursday, 2 June 2005
In Georgia on a working visit, RA Prime Minister A. Margaryan met with the representatives of the Armenian community at the Church of St.George on the morning of June 2. Later on, the Prime Minister met with Mrs. Nino Bourjanadze, Speaker of Georgian Parliament.
In prioritizing the rapidly expanding intercourse between Armenia and Georgia, the Speaker of Georgian Parliament welcomed the visit of the Armenian Prime Minister, which, according to her, would be another strong impetus to the development of bilateral relationship. Both sides have emphasized the friendly ties of partnership that had been established between the Heads of State, as well as between the respective legislative and executive powers.
It was noted during the meeting that efforts were needed on either side to solve a number of problems existing between the two countries. Prime Minister A. Margaryan briefed Mrs. Nino Bourjanadze on the details of the meeting had with Georgian Prime Minister Zourab Noghaideli. The Speaker of Georgian Parliament stressed that her country was interested in the economic development, strengthening and stability of the neighboring Armenia. She noted that our region had good prospects of development and might well be reserved a dignified place in today's world. By mentioning that there were a good number of prospective economic programs in the economic field, in particular, she stressed the need in the joint implementation of thereof. Appreciative of the activities carried out by the Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission for economic affairs, the Parties have emphasized the importance of furthering the existing interparliamentary ties for the enhancement of bilateral exchanges in various fields.
With reference to the social and economic problems facing Javakhk, Mrs. Bourjanadze indicated that former governments had obviously fallen short of addressing them, but the approaches had changed since the revolution of roses. She further said that on her arrival in the region the day before, she was able to notice the precarious social and economic situation in the region. There were numerous problems that she had happened to discuss with the local population during the meetings had with them. These problems had also been taken up with the representatives of local authorities. Mrs. Bourjanadze stressed that the efforts made by the central authorities were not mere professions of action in the region, but they were the expression of a real concern for the well-being of Georgian citizens.
With reference to transportation bottlenecks and the re-commissioning of the Abkhazian stretch of railway, Mrs. Nino Bourjanadze said that certain progress could be noticed in this matter. The solution of this problem was no longer associated with conflict settlement and the Georgian authorities were prepared to go on with it in parallel with the peace talks.
The Speaker of Georgian Parliament stated that it was important for them to learn during the Armenian President's stay in Georgia that our country took serious interest in developing the cooperation between the European commonwealth and the countries in the region in the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy. She noted that a maximum involvement in regional programs would largely benefit to the solution of the existing problems. As far as cultural ties were concerned, The Speaker of Georgian Parliament emphasized the exertion of concerted efforts for the preservation of respective cultural values and the implementation of joint touristic programs as proposed by Christian Poncelet at the quadrilateral meeting had with the speakers of the South Caucasian Parliaments.
Mrs. Bourjanadze mentioned the necessity of activating the endeavors towards the settlement of the issue of demarcation lines. In this connection, Mr. Margaryan said that he had come to an arrangement with his Georgian counterpart about convening a meeting of the relevant commission in November in order to discuss the issue at hand. The Speaker of Georgian Parliament expressed interest in the transit to Europe of Iranian gas across the territories of Armenia and Georgia by calling it a mutually beneficial project. The Parties have also referred to the issue of streamlining the activities of the Georgian Diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church, in connection with which the Prime Minister said that the problem would be susceptible to solve within the framework of Georgian laws should there be joint efforts made towards this end.
The Armenian Prime Minister spoke in detail about the approaches on the Armenian side towards energy- and transport- and culture-related issues and conveyed the outcome of the discussions held with his Georgian counterpart.
Following the meeting, Mr. A. Margaryan and Mrs. Nino Bourjanadze met with the representatives of mass media.
The same evening, as headed by the Prime Minister, the Armenian delegation attended a gala concert held in honour of the heads of CIS governments.
The program for the day was concluded with a visit paid to Metzkhet.
Tomorrow, on June 3, Prime Minister A. Margaryan and the members of the Armenian delegation will take part in the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of CIS-member States which will be followed by the Prime Ministers' press conference.
