RIA Novosti, Russia
April 22 2004

GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT YEREVAN AND TBILISI

YEREVAN/TBILISI, April 22 (RIA Novosti) – Joschka Fischer, Foreign
Minister of Germany, will make an official visit to Armenia and
Georgia.

According to the department of information and the press of the
Armenian Foreign Ministry, Mr Fischer will meet with President Robert
Kocharyan and other political leaders of Armenia on Thursday. “They
will discuss bilateral relations and regional processes.”

The Georgian Foreign Ministry says the agenda of the two-day visit
includes meetings with President Mikhail Saakashvili, Prime Minister
Zurab Zhvania and Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili.

On Friday April 23 Mr Fischer will attend the international
conference South Caucasus – Central Asia, to which the ambassadors of
Germany to South Caucasus and Central Asian states have been invited.

According to the German Embassy in Tbilisi, one of the key issues at
the conference will be promotion of bilateral economic co-operation.
The share of German investments in the overall volume of foreign
money in Georgia is only $30 mln. The Embassy explained this by the
fact that “the unfavourable investment climate, corruption and red
tape did not create an attractive environment for German
investments.”