Armenian, Georgian premiers discuss bilateral cooperation

Arminfo
7 Jul 06

Yerevan, 7 July: The Armenian and Georgian prime ministers discussed a
wide range of issues related to the further development of cooperation
between the two countries in Batumi today, Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Markaryan told journalists after a one-hour meeting with
Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli.

He said that the construction of the third high-voltage power line by
Georgia was discussed and an appropriate agreement was reached today.
Apart from that, issues related to the sphere of transport were also
discussed at the meeting, specifically, the talks focused on the fact
that the authorities of both countries are doing everything possible
to open the Abkhaz sector of the railway. However, the prime minister
added that in order to fully solve this issue, Russia’s support is
also important. Markaryan said that during the meeting, an agreement
was also reached to set up a joint working group that will estimate
the possibilities and benefits of resuming the rail service between
Kars, Gyumri and Tbilisi.

Speaking about the Georgian authorities’ decision to restore the
infrastructure of [the Armenian-populated Georgian] Samtskhe-Javakheti
region, Markaryan pointed out that it will be expedient to involve
businessmen and the local population of Samtskhe-Javakheti in the
implementation of the aforesaid work in order to weaken tensions in
the region, especially as the local population has great experience
in such work.

[Passage omitted: Markaryan spoke about Armenia’s possible assistance
to the region]

The Armenian prime minister said that they also discussed the
importance of opening an Armenian-Georgian university in Tbilisi. In
this regard, the Armenian education and science minister will visit
Georgia to discuss a number of technical issues.

The sides also discussed cooperation in the sphere of tourism and noted
that the number of Armenian tourists visiting Georgian and Ajarian
resorts on the Black Sea coast is increasing year by year. In this
regard, Markaryan told journalists that the importance of increasing
the volume of Armenian investment in the Black Sea resorts was
also noted.