ARMENIA-GEORGIA
Vardan Grigoryan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily, Armenia
Oct 17 2007

The parties will have increased chances

Held on October 15-16, the Sixth Session of the Inter-Governmental
Committee of the Armenian-Georgian Economic Cooperation can, without
exaggeration, be considered a turning point in both countries’
economic and political history.

During the past years, Armenia and Georgia were considered in the
world as poor countries with limited economic capacities, and the
international structures which maintained relations with them acted
as donors. The maximum that has been realized with joint efforts
up to date was the unhampered work of the life support systems. At
difficult moments the parties have always found relevant solutions to
the issues regarding the shipment of goods, gas and electricity supply.

Being in an economic blockade, Armenia managed, during the past years,
to open simultaneously two windows, one of them looking to Georgia
and the other – to Iran.

The last evidence of the above-mentioned is the opening of the Iranian
ports of Enzel and Bender Abas for the Armenian goods carriers. This
comes to supplement and replenish the shipments carried out via the
ports of Poti and Batumi. In such conditions, when Armenia is becoming
faced with serious alternatives, the issue of economic cooperation
with the neighboring Georgia is acquiring a mutually beneficial
character for two main reasons: First: the prospect of forming an
Armenian-Georgian Common Economic Area is viewed by the West as a
most important condition for the South Caucasian republics in terms
of strengthening their independence and integrating to Europe.

Second: this kind of prospect allows Georgia to overcome the
consequences of unilateral inclusion in or exclusion from the
Turkish-Azerbaijani economic and political area, and enables Armenia
to further increase its chances of joining the European and the
World Markets.

Therefore, without the slightest exaggeration we can already insist
that the Sixth Session of the Inter-Governmental Committee of the
Armenian-Georgian Economic Cooperation was the actual beginning of
the process of realizing the long-range program aimed at forming
an Armenian-Georgian Common Economic Area. Instead developing into
regular interstate negotiations, this actually changed into a joint
meeting between the two countries’ Governments.

In the course of their activities, which lasted no more than two
days, Prime Ministers Serge Sargsyan and Zourab Noghaidely managed to
sketch the general picture of the Armenian-Georgian Common Economic
Area and predetermine the primary problems. And they immediately gave
recommendations to the relevant structures of their countries for the
solution of those problems. That is, the decisions made during the
session became specific program of the two countries governments the
goal of the program being the formation of a market with its trade,
investment, energy, communication, customs and other components.

As justifiably noted by the Georgian Prime Minister Z. Noghaidely,
the South Caucasus is forming a relatively big and extensive market,
which already has 8 million consumers. It is natural that there will
be considerably chances and interests for making investments in this
market will increase considerably. There will be an increased interest
especially on the part of those Western financial and economic circles
that have learnt to work in a large market which, though composed of
independent countries like the European Unions, is economically united.

Of course, the European Union’s aspiration to make the newly-formed
South Caucasian market our economic and political fulcrum will play its
positive role as well. Considering both countries’ common past as well
as the fact of their belonging to the Christian world, this kind of
political-economic area will be viewed as one of Western Asia’s pivotal
points shifting the focus of the EU programs to its side. And this,
in turn, promises to considerably increase the two countries’ general
attractiveness in the World Market, as well as create prerequisites
for gaining privileged conditions in cooperation with other markets.

It is also necessary to bear in mind that the diaspora Armenian
businessmen also get greater chances for investments and transit trade.

Thus, the Armenian Georgian Inter-Governmental Session marked the
beginning of the process of transforming the two countries’ economic
cooperation into economic integration. The agreements achieved
during the Session went beyond the framework of solving the current
economic problems between Armenia and Georgia and predetermined the
new political prospects that are opening for the two neighboring and
friendly countries and peoples.