Friday, 15 May 2009
RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received a delegation led by Deputy Head of RF Government Sergey Ivanov.
To begin with, Sergey Ivanov extended condolences in connection with yesterday’s blast in Nairit plant and expressed readiness to possibly assist Armenia in the aftermath.
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said to be pleased with the current status of bilateral interaction by noting that joint projects are underway in all sectors of public life. Over a thousand of mixed-capital enterprises are operational in Armenia and the Government is determined to back them amidst the ongoing crisis.
Among other items, there have been discussed transport- and energy-related issues, as well as the status of those enterprises handed over to Russia against public debt.
Prioritizing the importance of ensuring regular goods traffic between the two countries, the parties went on to discuss questions relating to the Kavkaz-Poti-Kavkaz railway-ferry and Novorossiysk-Poti- Novorossiysk motorway-ferry routes.
T. Sargsyan and S. Ivanov similarly touched upon a number of issues concerning the operations of the Armenian railway network (forwarded to Russia on the basis of concession), including the fulfillment of contractual obligations, tariff rates, technical refurbishment, investment on modernization and so on.
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan made a point of speeding up the process of creating economic zones within those industrial and scientific enterprises handed over to Russia under the Property for Debt arrangement. In turn, Sergey Ivanov noted that the Russian side is mindful of the problem which may be addressed in the near future.
Then, the parties spoke about the possibility for Armenian companies - building material suppliers in particular - to get involved in the building projects carried out under preparations for the 2014 Olympic Games of Sochi.
In conclusion, the role of the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental economic commission was emphasized on either side by noting that it helps find out new cooperation potentialities.
