Tuesday, 9 December 2008
The RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan-led government delegation arrived in Tbilisi on a one-day working visit to attend the 7th session of the Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. In anticipation of the session, Tigran Sargsyan had a provate interview with Georgian Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili. Then the two Prime Ministers met with the commission task force and took part in the planned session which discussed the status of the assignments issued at the previous session, the current state of affaires and development prospects for the legal framework applicable between the two sides, the cooperation dynamics inclusive of transportations, agriculture, energy, health care and public welfare, education and culture, environmental protection, tourism. The issue of State border delineation was reviewed as well.
The two heads of government thanked the intergovernmental commission for effective work and went on to mention that Armenia and Georgia have managed to maintain good-neighborly relationship. The Prime Minister expressed hope that this 7th session of the commission will add an extra momentum for the furtherance of these relations. Both sides highlighted the status of those arrangements made during RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s latest visit to Georgia.
Tigran Sargsyan and Grigol Sgaloblishvili stressed the need for abiding by open, transparent and understandable policy line which should also be visible to such large nations as may have interest in the region. They expressed hope that the planned signing of documents will give a new impetus to interstate relations and went on to note that hard work has to be carried out to carry into effect the agreements reached. Tigran Sargsyan and Grigol Sgaloblishvili further mentioned that issues of mutual concern and of regional importance have been discussed during their private talks. The question of the Armenian St. Norashen Virgin church was said to have been touched upon during the talks. They underscored that Armenian and Georgian Churches are united with centuries-old ties. The Prime Minister highlighted the initiative of the Supreme Patriarch of the Georgian Church concerning the formation of a joint commission on church problems to examine any controversy through dialog. The Georgian Prime Minister underscored that that two sides must rule out the possibility of political speculations over issues of bilateral interest.
A document signing ceremony was held following the sitting of the intergovernmental commission. The two prime ministers signed a protocol summarizing the outcome of the seventh session of the Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. Armenian Minister of Economy Nerces Yeritzyan and Georgian Minister of Economic Development Ekaterina Sharashidzeh signed the protocol on amendments to the August 14, 1995 agreement on free trade between the governments of Georgia and Armenia. Armenian deputy minister of Culture Gagik Gyurjyan and Georgian deputy minister of culture, preservation of historical monuments and sport David Chiria signed the program of bilateral cooperation for 2008-2010.
It was decided to hold the next eighth session of the intergovernmental commission in Yerevan in 2009.
Then the two prime ministers gave a joint news conference.
In this framework, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan met with President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili, called at the Armenian embassy in Tbilisi, Armenian Surb Norashen church, Armenian writers and public figures from Georgia.
The session of the Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation
The two sides noted with satisfaction that the bulk of the decisions passed at the previous session have been complied with and some of them are in process of completion. Ministries and agencies on either side were told to take all the necessary steps to complete the balance of decisions and report back to the commission.
It was noted that the legal base between the two countries is being built up, in particular, the following draft agreements are in process of preparation: mutual recognition and protection of geographical denominations (names of origin), cooperation in the field of veterinary care, plant protection and quarantine, Armenian-Georgian border-points maintenance, cooperation between the Armenian Ministry of Sport and Youth Affaires and the Georgian Ministry of Culture, Preservation of Historical Monuments and Sport etc.
After discussing the current status and the development prospects for the applicable legal framework, the commission noticed that a number of instruments are effective, including the protocol on the procedure to follow in exchanging statistical information between Georgia’s Finance Ministry and Armenia’s State Customs Committee by the Government (February 26, 2008), on mutual administrative assistance between the governments of Armenia and Georgia in customs-related issues (June 20, 2008) and the air communications agreement (October 6, 208). Work is complete on the amendments to the August 15, 1995 agreement on free trade between the countries and the 2008-2010 program of cooperation between the Armenian Ministry of Sport and Youth Affaires and the Georgian Ministry of Culture, Preservation of Historical Monuments and Sport.
As to the process of marking State boundaries between Armenia and Georgia, the commission proposed the respective commissions on either side to continue work towards achieving a mutually acceptable arrangement.
Bilateral trade and economic exchanges and cooperation in the sphere of tourism were provided a special focus during the discussions. The session took note that trade turnover rose by 31.6% in January-October, 2008 as compared to the same period of 2007. The need for closer cooperation in the field of information technologies was highlighted on either side. By stating the effectiveness of the work done so far, the commission issued a number of recommendations to corresponding ministries and agencies. In particular, the Georgian ministry of economic development, the Armenian ministry of economy and the State property management agency by the RA government were told to provide for a regular exchange of information on trade and economic programs, as well as on issues relating to the privatization of State-owned assets. The Georgian ministry of economic development, the Armenian ministry of economy and other stakeholders were proposed to promote a mutually advantageous cooperation between Georgian and Armenian IT companies, as well as to reveal the potentialities available in the field of tourism by participating in international exhibitions, developing joint itineraries for guided-tours and producing printed advertising materials. It was agreed to organize guided tours for journalists in 2009. The two agriculture ministries were told to set up a working group responsible for developing the cooperation in the sphere of agro-industry, look into the possibility of launching tea-producing joint ventures, as well as to review the possibility for private entities to collaborate in the field of fruit and vegetables processing, packing and conservation.
In noting that bilateral trade turnover has increased considerably over the past few years, the commission instructed the two sides to work toward harmonizing and simplifying border- crossing procedures for exporters and by April 1, 2009 submit proposals on the enactment of standardized rules for border-crossing, veterinary, phyto-sanitary, sanitary and customs-clearing operations. They were also told to provide for favorable conditions for easy transit and customs-clearing operations. It was decided to have mutually agreed the issue of building a second motor-bridge between the two countries by April 1, 2009.
With reference to the cooperation in field of transport communications, the two sides noted with satisfaction that the volume of motor-borne and railway goods traffic is on the upgrade now. In view of the above, competent authorities on either side were told to continue upgrading the infrastructures and the rate of traffic through Airum-Sadakhlo railway station. The Georgian ministry of economic development and the Armenian ministry of economy were told to keep on exchanging information on the reconstruction-rehabilitation of Yerevan-Gyumri-Bavra-Ninotsminda-Akhaltzikha-Shwakhevi-Batumi motorway. Competent authorities were charged to put into effect the principle of customs surveillance on Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan railway line by April 1, 2009.
The intergovernmental commission underscored the two sides’ interest in the furtherance of integration-conducive processes in the energy sector based on good-neighborly relationship. They stressed the importance of ensuring uninterrupted supply of adequate quantities of natural gas into Armenia through Georgia, especially in winter. The concerned entities were instructed to complete the construction of the 400-kW-strong Georgia-Armenia high-voltage transmission line by the end of 2009. The RA Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Armenia’s High-Voltage Electric Networks CJSC and Georgian competent authorities were told to take any such measure as called for by Georgian laws in order to provide the Ashotzk-Ninotsminda high-voltage line with a legal status.
The commission adopted separate decisions on welfare and humanitarian issues. In particular, they decided to develop the cooperation in the areas of public health care, education, culture, environmental protection etc.
